The Origins Of Religion

THE ORIGINS OF RELIGION

THE

ORIGINS OF
RELIGION

BY

RAFAEL KARSTEN, Ph.D.

PROFBSSOR OF

MORAL PHILOSOPHY AT THB UNIVERSITY OF FINLAND,
HELSINGFORS

Author of The CiviKzation of the South American Indians;
Indian Tribes of the Gran Chaco; The Head-Hunters of
Western Amaxonas^ etc.

LONDON

KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER W CO. LTD.
BROADWAY HOUSE, 68-74 CARTER LANE, E.C.

J 93 S

fmotrm is cȣat britaik bv the eorNBimoH prbbs, BOfNBfmcH and London

CONTENTS

PAOB

Preface vii

Introduction i

PRIMITIVE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

CHAP.

1 . Theories of the Origin of Religion . . ii

II. The Psychology of Primitive Man. “ Pre-

ANiMisTic ” Theory 22

III. Primitive Conception of the Soul . . 49

IV. The Soul and Magical “ Power ” . . 61

V. The Worship of Animals .... 76

VI. The Worship of Plants .... 93

VII. The Worship of Inanimate Nature . .116

VIII. Totemism 143

IX. Spirits, Demons, Ghosts . . . . i6i

X. " Supreme Beings ” of Primitive Peoples . 179

RELIGIOUS CULT

XL The Origin of Ritual, Magic and Religion . 201
XII. Communion with the Spirit World . .an

VI

CONTENTS

CHAP.

Xlll. The Control

OF Spirits by Magical Means .

PAOI

226

XIV. PURinCATION

Ceremonies ....

238

XV. Sacrifice

•••••••

251

XVI. Prater .

. . . - . • .

269

XVII. Fonerai, and Mourning Customs. The Cult

OF THE Dead 276

References 295

List of Authorities 315

Index 324

PREFACE

This work on the early history of religion, although com-
paratively limited as to size, is the result of studies carried on
for many years, founded partly on literary sources, partly on
my own field research. The views therein expressed have
consequently not been written down hastily, but after mature
consideration of the many and difficult problems presented by
primitive religion. In spite of my criticism of certain ethno-
logical schools and theories of the subject, I have tried to do
them justice by citing their evidence as fully as space permitted.
I therefore venture to hope that my work, apart from the
interest it may awaken in scientists in this field, may also
claim a raison d'itre as a handbook for beginners.

Helsingfors, March, 1935.

R. K.

INTRODUCTION

T he modem science of Comparative Religion has, from the
start, paid particular attention to the problem of the origin
of the belief in a supernatural world and the religion of so-
called “ primitive ” peoples. So many works, in fact, have been
written on the “ origin of religion ” or “ primitive religion ”
that one who ventures to add to their number needs to state
specially his reason for such an undertaking. For my part 1
should say that being new, the science of comparative religion
is naturally making rapid progress, and fresh facts likely to
throw light on religious phenomena at the lower stages of
culture are constantly being presented. It is natural, therefore,
that our views on the subject should change in proportion
as our insight into its essential elements grows, many older
theories proving untenable and new hypotheses forcing
themselves upon us.

In this book, of course, many facts familiar through earlier
works on the subject are adduced, but in addition much new
material is presented which may give it some value independent
of the theories set forth. Most of this new material is collected
from two very different areas. One is South America, where
I travelled for six years studying the religious beliefs and customs
of several Indian tribes representing different stages of culture.
The other is the Finno-Ugrian area, where Finnish and Russian
ethnologists have been at work in the last decades and in former
times, bringing to light a body of facts which form a valuable
addition to our knowledge about religious life at an early stage
of evolution. These new facts, however, are known only im-
perfectly to international science, being written to a great
extent in languages not generally understood in Europe. In
view of these new facts, and specially of those collected by
myself among the SouA American Indians or from little-
known books on them, I have, in many cases, reached con-
clusions on controversial questions which differ considerably

2

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

from those of other scientists. At the same time, I am quite
aware of the difficulty of general conclusions of any real validity
in regard to so vast and complicated a subject as primitive
religion.

A few words may be said as to the sources from which our
knowledge of religion at an early stage of development is
derived, and the method I have applied to my own study of
the subject. The sources are varied, and opinion differs as to
the value to be attributed to them. When the Science of
Religion arose in the middle of last century, philology was
one of its most important assistant sciences. The epoch-
making discoveries within the culture history of many peoples
of archaic culture in the beginning and middle of the last
century naturally influenced the study of primitive and non-
Christian religions. Indiology and the study of the Avesta,
Assyriology, and Egyptology became fashionable sciences and
gave rise, at first to comparative philology, and soon after,
owing to the contents of the sacred books, to the comparative
science of religion.

It was easy to find that the various religions, however much
they differed from each other in particulars, had essential
elements in common and consequently could be compared.
We no longer hope to be able to trace in any of these sacred
books — in the Veda for instance, as did Max Muller — the
beginnings of religion. “ Primitive ” traits, if any, appear
only as survivals from still earlier times in the history of the
peoples that created them. There can, however, be no differ-
ence of opinion about the highly valuable material they afford
for the study of religious phenomena at earlier stages of
religious evolution. TTie records of certain classical writers
like Herodotos, Strabo, Pausanias, Varro, Caesar, Tacitus,
Plutarchos, and others, relating to the religious ideas and
practices of the ancient oriental peoples, the Greeks, Romans,
Teutons, Celts, etc., have a similar value, and more attention
is now paid to them than formerly.

The most important material, however, which modem Com-
parative Religion has at its disposal and makes use of when
trying to solve its problems is derived from a wholly different
source, that of ethnology. The results achieved in this field
during the last decades, or rather since the middle and end of
the last century, are well known and account for the unusual

INTRODUCTION

3

activity evident at present among students of the science of
religion. The material which ethaology has brought to light
concerning the religious ideas and superstitions, and the rites
and ceremonies of so-called primitive peoples in different parts
of the world, is so vast that it is almost impossible for one
person to master it completely. There is much controversy,
however, as to the valuation of this material and the interpreta-
tion of the ethnological facts. Above all, to what extent can
they throw light on the problem of the origin of religion ? This
is an important methodological question with which I shall
presently deal in stating my own position.

The comparative method which the Science of Religion
applies to religious phenomena implies that between these
phenomena there are not only dissimilarities but also essential
similarities, thus enabling them to be compared. The pheno-
mena are classified into groups according to their characteristics.
From these, certain general laws are deduced with supposed
validity for religion at large.

A method of this kind, of course, is founded on the assump-
tion that peoples now existing in various parts of the world
are, in spite of racial differences, and different geographical
and socid milieus, identical in regard to their psychical char-
acter. Owing to the uniformity of the human intellect, the
religious thoughts of primitive peoples will necessarily tend
in the same direction, independently of possible culture-
contact. The history of religion shows numerous instances
of such “ elemental ideas ”, or Elemmtargedanken, to use a
term introduced by the German ethnologist A. Bastian. To
these belong, undoubtedly, the whole primitive “ philosophy ”
called animism and the system of primitive ideas constituted by
so-called magic.

On the other hand, it is a fact that ideas, customs, and
institutions can be transmitted from one people to another
through historical contact. Many myths, it has been shown,
were diffused from one land to anodier, thus explaining the
fact that they exist in much the same form among peoples
who geographically, and even racially, were widely separated.
We are confronted here with one of the leading controversial
questions in social anthropology to-day, and in regard to
which the methods of different ethnological schools are at
great variance; natural evolution or cultural diffusion?

4

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

The evolutionary school, founded by Darwin himself and
in anthropology proper by such men as Herbert Spencer,
Lewis Morgan, Letoumeau, E. B. Tylor, Lord Avebury, and
others, has, without denying the possibility of culture-contact,
started from the assumption that uniformity in customs and
beliefs among different savage peoples must be explained
chiefly by the uniformity of the less developed human mind
itself. It regards the high culture, characteristic of the civilized
peoples of our day, as the result of a slow progressive evolution
through different stages of savagery and barbarism.

An entirely different view is taken by a school of ethnologists,
represented in England notably by W. H. R. Rivers, and in
the German scientific world by Frobenius, Graebner, and
Father W. Schmidt and his pupils. They lay special stress
on cultural diffusion, even going so far as to regard the analysis
of cultural relations as the first and true task of ethnology, [i]
The advocates of this school are generally little inclined to admit
the possibility of an independent origin for customs and
ideas. In conformity with this view, they are averse on prin-
ciple to all “ psychological ” explanations of religious and
social phenomena.

The evolutionary school, which, to quote E. B. Tylor,
treats “ the history of mankind as part of the history of nature **,
and applies to the study of man the same method as is
used in natural science, at present has its most decided opponent
in the Catholic school of ethnologists represented by Father
Schmidt and his adherents. Father Schmidt is also the most
fervid advocate of the theory of “ culture centre ” (Kultur-
kreislekre) as set forth by the Culture History school. This
theory is open to so many objections that there is no need to
deal with it at length.

It is interesting to note, however, that, in spite of the in-
defatigable energy with which Father Schmidt, both in his
specid review Anthropos and in his works, combats the theory
of cultural evolution (der Evolutiomsmus), there is more agree-
ment between the two schools than one might at first think.
The latter speaks of low and more advanced “ stages ” of
evolution, the culture-history school of different Kulturstufen
which have followed each other historically and are still repre-
sented in the “ culture centres ” distinguishable among the
different races of mankind . It may be that even the evolutionary

INTRODUCTION 5

theory is too schematic and not wholly in touch with reality
in outlining the regular and straightforward development of
culture through different stages; but, in its mania for system-
atizing and its arbitrary historical reconstructions, the culture-
history school of ethnology certainly outdoes all oliiers.

It is not enough that in such widely separated parts of the
world as Oceania and South America much about the same
different “ Stufen ” of culture are distinguished ; every “ stage ”
in one part of the world has its almost exact equivalent in a
similar stage in another. Thus the “ Urkultur ” or Tasmanian
culture in Oceania answers exactly to the primitive culture
which in South America, according to Father Schmidt, is
represented chiefly by such peoples as the Fuegians, the
Botocudos, and certain Chaco tribes, and in Africa in the
pygmies of equatorial Africa, the Bushmen, and so on. More-
over, each of these particular types of culture is characterized
by a certain social status and by certain peculiarities, exactly
indicated, within the sphere of material and intellectual culture.
Now in the first place it may be greatly doubted whether we
are entitled to speak of any “ Urkultur ” at all in regard to
the savages of to-day; but this is a question to which I shall
return in the next chapter.

I want particularly in the present connection to draw
attention to the arbitrary way in which the said school of
ethnologists distinguishes different strata of culture and
classifies savage tribes, widely separated from one another in
time and space, as belonging to one and the same “ culture
centre ”. In South America, for instance, neither the Fuegians
nor the Chaco tribes are more “ primitive ” than most other
South American tribes. On the contrary, the Fuegians, who,
as is w'ell known, have been under European and Christian
influence for many decades, must be classified decidedly
among the higher of those South American tribes still supposed
to be living in a natural state. The beehive-shaped huts, for
instance, which are used both in the Chaco and in Tierra del
Fuego, need not necessarily be taken as exponents of their
generally low level of culture. In the Chaco, at any rate, they
must be explained wholly by natural conditions. It is simply
the form of hut which can be most easily constructed of the
material these tribes have at their disposal. [2]

One of the most obvious mistakes of the so-called culture-

6

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

history school of ethnology, particularly as represented by
Father Schmidt, is its failure to realize the highly differentiating
influence exerted by racial peculiarities and purely natural
conditions, such as climate, on the customs and institutions
of uncivilized peoples. Another fundamental mistake is the
tendency to connect arbitrarily widely different culture ele-
ments which have nothing essential in common and the co-
existence of which among one and the same people is evidently
merely accidental. One may well question, for example, what
such culture traits as conical-shaped huts, dug-outs, spear-
throwers, bark girdles, penis-envelopes, platform-burial,
paternal system of descent, totemism, and sun-mythology,
which according to Father Schmidt form the chief character-
istics of the “ totemic culture ” in the whole world, have
fundamentally in common that justify our grouping them
together in this way. [3]

The lower races can certainly be compared, in a general
way, in regard to ideas and customs, but we cannot, even in
the same part of the world, graduate them so as to form a
definite scale of cultures. All attempts, therefore, to classify
them according to abstract schemes such as that hinted at
above are doomed to failure. Owing to geographical conditions
or other causes, a tribe may stand very low in its material
culture, such as the Fuegians and the Australian aborigines.
Intellectually and in regard to social development they may,
on the other hand, occupy a comparatively high stage of
culture like the same “ primitive ” natives. Under such
circumstances their cultural classification must needs be
extremely difficult.

When the culture-history school regards the ethnological
analysis of culture phenomena as the chief task of the history
of civilization and denies the possibility or importance of a
psychological explanation, this is another of the school’s
equally obvious ex^gerations. W. H. R. Rivers, the radical
representative of this tendency of thought in England, pointed
out that savage peoples in general are not able to assign the
reason for practising a certain custom and that, as a rule, an
ethnologist will inquire in vain about the motives for ^eir
actions. [4] This assertion does not hold true of all savage
peoples, particularly not, I believe, of those peoples who have pre-
served their own native culture, while remaining comparatively

INTRODUCTION 7

free from external influence. Thus, in South America, I was
struck by the accuracy with which many independent tribes
were able to account for the ideas underlying their religious
and magical practices. During my investigations I also came
to realize the importance of obtaining the explanation from
the Indians themselves. Otherwise many of their customs
would have remained either unintelligible or open to mis-
understanding. Who, for instance, could understand the
peculiar rules of fasting observed by ^e Jibaro Indians, and of
which some instances will be given below, unless the curious
line of thought upon which they are founded were indicated
exactly by themselves ?

The existence of elemental ideas, i.e. ideas which are due to
the uniformity of the mental constitution of men, is an in-
disputable fact. From this it follows that there are many
culture-phenomena which, although appearing in the same
form among different peoples, may still have an independent
origin and development. On the other hand, it is an equally
indisputable fact that the various human races have borrowed
from each other many of their beliefs, customs, arts, and crafts.
The sociologist and historian of religion should therefore
always be on his guard against hasty conclusions in one direction
or another. If we may say, therefore, that the chief task of
sociology and the science of religion is the same as that of
every science, namely, to explain the facts with which it is
concerned, we may add that inquiry into the possible wander-
ings of culture-phenomena is another task which ought never
to be left entirely out of sight. Here we have two scientific
methods which supplement each other but which cannot
replace each other. I completely agree with Dr. Westermarck
when he points out that “ even when the historical connection
between customs found among different peoples has been well
established, the real origin of the custom has not been explained
thereby. It is not a sufficient explanation of a custom to say
that it has been derived from ancestors or borrowed from
neighbours ; this only raises the question of how it originated
among those who first practised it; for a custom must have
a beginning.” [5]

For my part, I should add that the ease with which culture-
phenomena are transmitted from one people to another may
vary greatly. Myths and legends, for instance, evidently have

8 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

more tendency to “ wander ” and are more easily borrowed
than fundamental religious ideas and complicated rites. This
is due to the conservative character of religion in general and
particularly of religiotis cult. The consequence is diat, within
this department of custom and thought, peoples are less liable
to external influence than in many others. Besides which,
peoples cannot “ borrow ” elements of a cult from each other
tmless they are psychologically qualified for such borrowings.

The comparative method in the study of religion should
be applied with due caution. Two religious phenomena
which are outwardly similar may, in spite of this similarity, be
quite diflferent in nature and due to different causes. Induction
in regard to a certain idea or a certain custom ought to be as
complete as possible. Above all, great caution is necessary
when we come to draw general conclusions about peoples who
belong to entirely different races, or to widely separated geo-
graphical milieus, or who represent quite different stages of
culture. The authorities and sources from which our material
is derived ought to be carefully scrutinized. In all these
respects serious faults have been committed in comparative
sociology and the science of religion. This is the chief reason
why the results have so often proved doubtful and been so
short-lived. It is astonishing, for instance, to find what little
pains theoretical scholars have taken in this field to establish
the reliability of the statements upon which they founded their
theories, these often touching religious problems of funda-
mental importance. Popular books published by passing
travellers and collectors of ethnographic curiosities, who have
stayed among a tribe for a few days or weeks, seem to be
considered equally reliable as ethnological sources as mono-
graphs written by trained ethnologists or missionaries who
have lived among a people for years, perhaps for decades.

It is this uncritical use of literary sources with their resultant
generalizations which is responsible for the unsatisfactory
character of most of the older comparative works on the
religion, customs, and institutions of the lower peoples. In
this particular respect a new treatment of sociology and the
science of religion is necessary. Even when he de^ with the
lower religions, the historian of religion should adopt just as
critical an attitude towards the documents he uses as the
profane historian.

INTRODUCTION 9

We cannot meet this objection by 8a}dng, as does one modem
sociologist, that “ it is often simply impossible for the most
carefully scmtinizing critic to decide whether a certain state-
ment is accurate or not, and it may even be difEcult to form a
just idea of the general trustwordiiness of an ethnographical
author.” [6] This may be so in some cases, just as there may
be different opinions as to the trustworthiness of an historic
document, but in the majority of cases it does not hold true.
If we really had no means of distinguishing between falsehood
and truth in regard to ethnological sources, we should have to
admit that the results arrived at in comparative anthropological
works are more or less illusory. We can usually discover, at any
rate, how long the author in question stayed among the people
he describes, whether he learnt the language or not, wheAer he
acquired his information through interpreters or founded his
statements on personal observation, whether he was particularly
trained for studies of this kind or not, and so forth. It is not
difEcult, even after a superficial glance at the literature used in
many comparative works on the customs of the lower races, to
establish that at least fifty per cent of the authors quoted were not
qualified to give tmstworAy information about the peoples with
whom they dealt, and that, from a scientific point of view, their
works are consequently valueless.

A wholesome reaction, therefore, is at present noticeable
against the sociological method in so far as it aims at an indis-
criminate and too general a comparative study of the lower races
in the entire world. The opinion is gaining more and more
ground that the study of religious and social phenomena should
be limited at first to definite groups of related tribes or definite
culture areas, in regard to which Ae ethnologist is able to pro-
ceed with greater care and thoroughness, and particularly to apply
more criticism to the sources used. Not until a great number of
careful and detailed monographs on definite classes of social
and religious phenomena from different parts of the world
lie before us should we proceed to write general comparative
works. [7]

As far as religion is concerned, we are at present, it seems to
me, in a better position when aiming at a synthesis than when
dealing with purely sociological phenomena. Excellent mono-
graphs on the religious ideas and customs of the lower races in
different parts of ^e world already exist. These, in addition to

10 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

monographs on the religions of archaic peoples, may make it
possible for us to state the general traits of religious evolution
at the earlier stages of culture. Be this as it may, attempts of
this kind are not without interest and importance, since they give
us a survey of the many difficult problems put before us by the
comparative science of religion and of the tentative efforts to
solve them.

PRIMITIVE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

CHAPTER I

THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF RELIGION

T he word “ primitive ”, so frequently used by the modem
sciencesof religionand sociology , can be taken in two different
senses. Partly it can be taken to signify what, in a strictly chron-
ological sense, is original and primary; partly, in a more general
sense, it may be taken to signify what, as regards its structure^ is
primordial and imperfect. In the first case, the problem of
primitive religion is the same as the problem of the or^n of
religion : in the latter, we are concerned only with that form
of religion which is the lowest known to us historically, above
all the one represented by the lowest uncivilized peoples existing
at present. It will soon be seen that, in this book, in this latter
sense particularly, I use the word ” primitive ”. It may be that
the rudimentary religious thought found among many backward
peoples of to-day comes relatively near that stage of religion
attained by our human ancestors, but nothing entitles us to
assert that there still exist primitive tribes which have remained
intellectually at this primary stage of culture. Practically, how-
ever, it is difficult to keep the two senses wholly apart, and the
problem of the origin of religion is of such great historical inter-
est that we need to pay some attention to the theories set forth
at different epochs on the subject.

Science will never be able to trace, with absolute certainty,
the first beginnings of human culture, still less the first beginning
of the belief in a supernatural world, characteristic, as far as we
know, of all human races which exist or have ever existed. In
dealing with this problem we merely use hypotheses of greater
or less probability. We cannot follow the history of religion
down to its origin. We do not know when the being which
first deserved the name of man appeared on the earth. About
his intellectual, as well as his physical condition, we can form
an opinion only by way of deductions or conclusions ex analog.

II

12

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

The extreme difficulty or even insolubility of the problem,
however, has not always been realized by the representatives of
the science of religion. 'We need not speak of that epoch, not
so far removed, when the Old Testament was regarded as an
infallible authority on the early history of man, with the result
that the first form of religion was supposed to have been a clear,
although simple, belief in one single god, a belief which later
degenerated into polytheism and demonism. This theory is
still of interest inasmuch as, in a modified form, it has frequently
been renewed by scholars apparently founding it on a more
scientific basis.

At the end of the last century, several prominent historians
of religion believed that, in the religious history of the ancient
Eg3rptians, Babylonians, and Indians they had found traces
of a “ primary monotheism ”, which later had more or less
disappeared. Max Muller rejected the theory of an original
monotheism in the Veda religion, but his own theory on
“ henotheism ” reflects the same romantic spirit conspicuous
in many of his contemporaries.

Like monotheism, henotheism is only conceivable if we assume
in primeval times a comparatively high standard of culture pre-
vailed among mankind, and that this later fell into decay,
producing fetishism, demonism, and other lower forms of
religion and superstition. According to this view, the state of
savagery and barbarism in which many uncultured peoples live
at present is not a primary but a secondary phenomenon, the
result of a degeneration of culture. This is the old theory of
degeneration as contrasted with the modern theory of progress
supported by the scientists of the evolutionary school.

The same general view of the development of human culture
at the lower stages, namely, that on essential points there has
been a movement backward and not forward in civilization, from
higher forms to lower, underlies certain other theories which
assume a relatively high standard of religious thought in prim-
eval times. Such was the case, for instance, with the theopr
which Robertson Smith set forth at the end of last century in
his well-known work on the religion of the Semites, and, accord-
ing to which, totemism was the original form of religion. Totem-
ism, it should be understood, as conceived by Robertson Smith,
was, in fact, a low form of monotheism, a monotheism which
had not been limited to the Semitic peoples but had marked a

THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF RELIGION 13

universal religious stage. In conformity virith his theory, this
orientalist and the school he founded contended that degenera-
tion on the whole had been more characteristic of human
cultural development than progression. This view, for instance,
is strongly set forth by E. B. Jevons in his Introduction to
the History of Religion.

Early in this century the old theory of primary monotheism
and the degeneration theory upon which it is based were revived
by Andrew Lang. It is chiefly due to his influence that it has
advocates among ethnologists even to-day. Andrew Lang
apparently gave it a firmer foundation by supporting it with
ethnological arguments. His theory of a monotheism among
the lower races of mankind which is a survival from primitive
times has, in its turn, been revived by the Catholic edmologist
Father Schmidt. In a special chapter I propose to deal with
the Supreme Beings of primitive peoples and examine the main
arguments adduced in support of the theory about a primary
monotheism by Father Schmidt and his pupils.

No theory of human culture, however much it may emphasize
the progress made by man in his long history from primitive
times to our days, can deny that this history also gives evidence
of cases of degeneration. Just as the degradation theory recog-
nizes progression, so of course the progression theory recognizes
degeneration as a powerful influence affecting the course of
culture. Realizing the truth that human culture has known both
advance and retreat, we also acknowledge the necessity of using
the word “ evolution ” with due caution. And, with equally
great caution, we ought to use the word “ primitive ” when
applied to low savage races of our own days.

Obviously, the word has been much misused, especially by
anthropologists of the evolutionary school. No savage tribe
exists whose mental and cultural state would answer even approx-
imately to that of “ primeval ” man. Even the rudest savage
tribes of to-day have a long history behind them. It is impossible
to assume that during the hundreds of thousands of years of
their existence they have remained entirely unaltered. The
very art of making fire which has been known to all historic
peoples, but which must have been unknown to our first human
ancestors, has pushed the former far in advance of the latter.
If romantic thinkers such as Rousseau and his modem epigones,
among them in a certain sense Andrew Lang, have unduly

14 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

idealized savage man and uncultured human society, on the
other hand there has frequently appeared, especially among
evolutionists, a contrary tendency, namely, to exaggerate unduly
his primitive nature. In this respect it is characteristic that
Darwin himself regarded the Fuegians, whom he met during
his voyage round the world, as a people standing so extremely
low in culture that ever since they have been classified among the
most backward known primitive races. 1 have already pointed out
that this opinion must be considered erroneous. I may add that,
whereas their language, for instance, was regarded by Darwin
as half animal-like and not even as articulate, the English
missionary Thomas Bridges, a few decades later, noted down in
this same language a vocabulary of no less than 32,000 words.

However, we have also seen that the error of taking low savage
tribes of to-day as representing “ primeval ” man in Aeir general
state of culture has by no means been limited to extreme
“ evolutionists A school, diametrically opposed to that of
Darwin, the German culture-history school of ethnology,
adheres dogmatically to the same view, referring the Fuegians,
together with certain other low races, to an imaginary Urh^tm.
Odier anthropologists, although they have not accepted the
theory of culture centres, have nevertheless shown a marked
tendency to exaggerate the primitiveness of certain modern
savages, presumably occupying the lowest stages of cultural
development, such as the Australian aborigines, and have built
upon diis supposed fact general theories about the beginnings
of culture among mankind at large.

On this point it is sufficient to bring to mind that it is on
Australian evidence chiefly that Sir James Frazer founded his
well-known theory according to which, in the evolution of
human thought, the stage of religion was preceded by an earlier
stage of magic. [ i ] Similarly, the Melanesians have been regarded
as so extremely primitive a race that a whole school of anthro-
pologists likewise do not shrink from bold generalizations, have
seen in their idea of mana a notion still earher in the history of
religious thought than animism itself.

By emphasizing the fact that there are no longer any “ prim-
itive ” races of men nor any “ Urkultur ” in the strict sense of
the word, we do not, on the other hand, imply that we must
give up the method hitherto followed by modem anthropology,
in so far as it uses ethnology as its chief assistant science. The

THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF RELIGION 15

modem savage does not reflect the mental and cultural state of
early man to the extent dogmatically assumed ; but, on the other
hand, he must by no means be looked upon as a degenerate
descendant of ancestors standing comparatively high in culture.

E. B. Tylor, always cautious in his judgments, has expressed
the view which may still, I think, on the whole be upheld.
“ By comparing the various stages of civilization among races
known to history, with the aid of archaeological inference from
the remains of prehistoric tribes, it seems possible,” he says,
“ to judge in a rough way of an early general condition of man,
which from our point of view is to be regarded as a primitive
condition, whatever yet earlier state may in reality have lain
behind it. This h}rpothetical primitive condition corresponds
in a considerable degree to that of modern savage tribes, who,
in spite of their difference and distance, have in common certain
elements of civilization, which seem remains of an early state
of the human race at large. If this hypothesis be true, then,
notwithstanding the continual interruptions due to degeneration,
the main tendency of culture from primeval up to modem times
has been from savagery towards civilization.” [z]

The relative stagnancy, which is always characteristic of the
culture of savage peoples and forms a contrast to the activity
and development appearing in all departments of the social life
of civilized peoples, entitles us to assume that the former, in
spite of all possible cases of degeneration, are nearer the origins
of cultural evolution than the latter. This assumption, as
pointed out even by Tylor, is confirmed by all our knowledge
of the early history of mankind.

On this point prehistoric archaeology supports ethnology in
a most valuable way. By no means has archaeology brought to
light any evidence which would show that, in earliest times, a
comparatively high human culture prevailed. On the contrary,
it has revealed a culture standing far below even that possessed
by the rudest savage people of our own days. If this is so, we
may expect to find, among many modem savages of low culture,
features which give us some guidance in trying to discover the
laws at work in the first formation of man’s belief in supernatural
powers.

The information archaeology is able to supply as to the relig-
ious state of prehistoric man is certainly very scanty. Almost
our only sources are the grave-finds. Many of the weapons.

i6 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

implements, ornaments, remains of food, etc., which have been
found in prehistoric graves, however, seem to show irrefutably
that the primitive men who buried their dead in this way
believed in the existence of a soul which survives the death of
the body. Because of this, we may infer that even palaeolithic
man in Europe, the contemporary of the mammoth and the
cave-bear, was in possession of a sort of religion or belief in
spirits.

Evidence to the same effect are those curious wall-paintings
encountered in ancient caves in western Europe. Paintings and
engravings of mammoth, bison, bear, elk, and other animals,
done with wonderful skill by these prehistoric men on the walls
of their primitive dwellings, cannot be explained merely as an
expression of their aesthetic sense, but must have been connected
in some mysterious way with their belief in spirits or soub.
Now, if we compare the religious ideas to which the archaeo-
logical finds refer with the facts brought to light by modem
ethnology about the ideas of uncultured peoples of to-day, we
cannot fail to note a remarkable agreement. On these grounds
we may also be able to form an opinion about the nature of
primitive religious thought in general.

An oft-noted characteristic of the religious ideas and the
rites based on them is the conservatism with which they are
observed even after the disappearance or change of the cultural
milieu to which they originally belonged.

This fact explains why, even among peoples of high civiliza-
tion, we find numerous traces of ideas and customs which,
properly speaking, form elements of primitive culture. History
shows that general cultural degeneration was frequently followed
by religious degeneration, this marked by a sudden revival
of more primitive forms of belief and cult.

It is natural to explain such phenomena as due to a kind of
religious atavbm or as survivals from stages of culture already
passed by the people in question. In the religion of the ancient
Greeks, Romans, and other peoples of archaic culture we
encounter, for instance, even at the time when their culture was
at its highest, numerous traces of such primitive forms of cult
as ancestor-worship, the worship of chthonic (earth) deities and
of animals, traces of fetishism, etc. These must doubtless be
explained as survivab. The popular religion and folklore of
most civilized peoples in Europe show similar instances of

THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF RELIGION 17

survivals, many ancient rites and superstitious practices being
kept up and observed, among the lower classes of the population
at least, long after their original meaning has been forgotten.

Phenomena of this kind enable us to understand how easily
different forms of religion, both higher and lower, blend or
combine, and how difficult it is to fix definite limits between
them. In fact, religious evolution has hardly any “ stages ” of
religion which can be distinguished clearly one from another.
Thus there never has existed a “ pure ” monotheistic religion.
Still more impossible is it to draw a sharp line of demarcation
between animism and polytheism. Lower forms of religious
belief and cult, animism, fetishism, demonism, witchcraft, may
exist, and in most cases do exist, among peoples who, in other
respects, have attained a relative montheism in the development
of their religious thought.

These religious survivals are of great importance to the
student of religion. They complete, in a valuable way, the
material supplied by ethnology. But folklore material, when it
is used to elucidate questions concerning primitive religion,
ought to be treated with still greater caution than that offered by
ethnology. Savage peoples who have remained free from exter-
nal influence generally know the ideas underlying their customs
and rites ; they are elements of living faith, and can therefore
be more easily explained and classified. On the other hand, this
is seldom the case with the category of stereotyped habits and
usages called survivals. A characteristic of these, as already
indicated, is that the very folk who observe them do not know
why they do so, or else attach to them a meaning which has
nothing to do with the original one. How far such survivals
truly reflect “ primitive ” ideas is consequently a delicate
question to solve, and experience shows that they have frequently
been strangely misinterpreted.

Among writers of the evolutionary school who have tried to
explain the origin of religion there are two who ought to be
mentioned above all others: Herbert Spencer and E. B. Tylor.
Spencer was one of the first anthropologists to see in the culture
of the present-day savage an approximate correspondence to
the state of culture represented by early or prehistoric man, and
who founded his theory about the beginnings of religion upon
facts revealed by modem ethnology.

B

i8 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

Like Tylor, Spencer starts from animism. In animism he
sees the fundamental stratum from which religion in every form
has been evolved, but the word is used by him in a more limited
sense than by Tylor. It is to him identical with the deification
of the spirits or souls of the dead. According to Spencer,
religion has developed out of the primitive worship of departed
souls ; in particular, the worship of departed ancestors which,
as a matter of fact, constitutes an important form of religion
among peoples of low culture. From this primitive form of
religion some other religious cult is derived, which, in relation
to ancestor- worship, is consequently a secondary phenomenon.
The worship of inanimate nature, for instance, has, according
to Spencer, arisen by spirits of the dead having been thought in
one way or another to have taken up their abode in the objects
of nature and to be active in natural phenomena. [3]

This is the old theory of the origin of religion set forth as
early as the third century before the Christian era by the Greek
philosopher Euhemeros, and frequently revived in the history
of the modem science of religion. A similar view of the early
evolution of religion was taken by the French historian Fustel
de Coulange wiUi special reference to the peoples of antiquity,
by Lippert with reference to Aryan peoples, and by Grant Allen
as a general theory of the origin of religion.

It is this old theory that Spencer revived, trying to support it
by facts gathered from modem ethnology. He tries to show how
the belief in a human soul originated, a soul which survives the
decay of the body and which, owing to its supposed power to
benefit or harm the survivors, becomes the object of a real cult.
With the help of numerous instances, Spencer shows how
widely spread is this kind of worship in the lower cultures.
But whereas this fact is now generally known, it is, of course,
much more difficult to show how other forms of religious cult
were developed out of the “ only true form of religion, ancestor
worship ”.

The facts, for example, which Spencer adduces to explain
the origin of animal, plant, and nature worship, which according
to him are merely aberrant forms of the worship paid to ancestral
ghosts, are not very convincing. Savage{children, for instance,
misunderstood the tales of their parents about the stars, origin-
ally supposed to be the camp-fires of such and such a departed
person, and thus originated the identification of deceased ances-

THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF RELIGION 19

tors with heavenly bodies. Animal-worship also, according to
Spencer, arose through some peoples having mistaken certain
forms of animal life, such as snakes, lizards, and insects, which
often come into the habitations of men, for the souls of their de-
parted relatives, who are supposed occasionally to revisit their
old abode. Creatures found in the caves used for burials were
likewise taken for the new shapes assumed by the dead. The
habit of naming individuals after animals and plants was also
largely a cause of their being confused, and so forth. [4]

But although confusions such as these may have played a
certain part in the history of religion, they obviously do not offer
that satisfactory explanation of the important and widespread
forms of primitive religion expected of them. Moreover,
Spencer overlooks the tendency of the primitive mind to per-
sonify inanimate objects of nature independent of the concep-
tion of the human soul.

Spencer’s theory, reached by a deductive rather than by an
inductive method of research, has therefore often been contra-
dicted. What is unsatisfactory in it, however, it seems to me,
is rather the argument than the general view he expresses as to
the development of early religion. Since the days of Spencer,
modem ethnology has brought to light numerous facts which
directly confirm his hypothesis as to the intimate connection
between the worship of the dead and the worship of animals,
plants, and inanimate objects of nature. Everything, for instance,
fevours the hypothesis that the religion of the Finno-Ugrian
peoples, as existing among the Russian and Asiatic tribes up to
our own day, has been developed out of a primitive worship of
the dead. The same may be said, I believe, of the religion of
the Bantu tribes of Africa and of that of the South American
Indians. Even the highly developed state religion of the Incas
was at bottom nothing but an ancestor worship in a wonderful
system.

The assertion that all spirits and gods in the lower and higher
religions are by nature nothing more than deified human souls
or spirits of dead men, however, cannot be proved as a general
theory. On this point Spencer was somewhat prejudiced and
dogmatic. On the whole, the relation of the worship of souls
to the worship of other animistic beings caimot be unravelled
by the general reasoning and doubtful hypotheses of such as
Spencer offers, but only by a careful inductive research into the

20

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

ideas actually held by different lower peoples. This is a question
with which I shall deal again later.

The theory of animism as the original form of religion was set
forth by E. B. Tylor in his well-known work Primitive Culture
of 1871. However much opinions about primitive religion may
have varied, the general view, of which Tylor has laid the founda-
tion, has, on the whole, retained its validity. “ Animism ”,
as sketched by Tylor, is a fact, however differently we may
explain the details of this “ primitive philosophy ” and whatever
place we may assign to it in the evolution of religion. Tylor has
established die existence of animism among all low human races
and, in a modified form, even among civilized peoples, and in
his famous minimum dehnidon of religion he falls back on this
essendal source of the belief in the supernatural. By religion,
Tylor simply means the belief in spiritual beings. Fuller,
according to Tylor, the theory of animism divides into two great
dogmas, forming parts of one consistent doctrine: first, con-
cerning the souls of individual creatures, capable of continued
existence after the death or destruction of the body; second,
concerning other spirits, extending to the rank of powerful
deities.

“ Spiritual beings are held to affect or control the events of
the material world, and man’s life here and hereafter; and it
being considered that they hold intercourse with men, and
receive pleasure or displeasure from human actions, the belief
in their existence leads naturally sooner or later to active rever-
ence and propitiation. Thus animism, in its full development,
includes the belief in controlling deities and subordinate spirits,
in souls, and in a future state, these doctrines practically
resulting in some kind of active worship.” [5]

Tylor’s theory of animism has, as we know, been of epoch-
making importance. Its stimulating influence on the modem
science of religion can be denied by nobody. The research
work on the cult of the dead and the “ animism ” of the lower
races has given rise to a whole literature. Other important
aspects of primitive religion may thereby have been overlooked
or neglected. At any rate, the theory which sees the origin of
religion in the belief in spiritual beings was the object of much
criticism in the last decades.

This criticism came partly from those scientists, quite numer-
ous in our day, who, starting from the conception of maua.

THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF RELIGION 21

contended that the animistic stage in the evolution of religion
was preceded by a still more primitive “ pre-animistic ” stage,
characterized by a belief in impersonal magical powers. The
adherents of this theory show, in general, a marked tendency to
underrate the importance of animism as a primitive form of
religion, and think they can trace everywhere the ideas of an
impersonal magical power. On the other hand, Tylor has been
strongly contradicted by the adherents of the theory of primary
monotheism, which in animism also sees a secondary phenom-
enon only.

In the chapters that follow, in which animism and kindred
ideas are treated, I shall state in which sense Tylor’s theory,
in my opinion, may still be maintained. We shall see that the
belief in spirits, thus in a certain sense “ animism ”, must still
be regarded as the very essence of primitive religion. If, by
religion in general, we understand the belief in supernatural
powers on which man feels himself to be dependent and which
in one way or another he tries to influence in his favour, we may
establish the fact, moreover, that there is no people in our day,
however low in the scale of human development, which is wholly
devoid of religion. When certain anthropologists. Lord Avebury
for instance, made statements to the contrary, this was due
only to their having used the word “ religion ” in too narrow
a sense. In the subsequent chapters we shall examine more
closely the ideas of the Supernatural which occur among the
lower races of mankind.

CHAPTER II

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN:

“ PRE-ANIMISTIC ” THEORY

T he psychology of primitive peoples has often been dealt with
both by the general psychologist and the anthropologist.
The difficulty of arriving at reliable results on this question
arises from the fact, already pointed out, that there no longer
exist any truly primitive ” peoples. When we use this word,
we mean in general a number of peoples of low culture, living, as
we say, in a state of nature but showing great differences in their
material culture and social organization, their beliefs, customs,
and institutions as well as their general mental characteristics.

The “ primitive mentality ” about which Levy-Bruhl, for
instance, has w'ritten so much in recent years and which is
characterized by him as being essentially “ prelogical ” in
opposition to the logical mind of civilized peoples [i] is in fact
nothing but a philosophical abstraction without counterpart in
reality. Nothing entitles us to assume, for instance, that the
Aust^ans, the Polynesians, the arctic peoples of northern Asia
and America, the Bantu tribes of Africa, and the Indians of
North and South America have all those characteristics ascribed
to a primitive mind, or that their thinking is essentially different
from our own logical thinking. My experiences from South
America, at any rate, are contrary to Livy-Bruhl’s theory, and
ethnologists at work in other parts of the world seem to have
arrived at similar results.

Livy-Bruhl points out that when he ascribes a prelogical
mentality to primitive peoples he only means that they are not
like civilized men, anxious above all, in their own thinking, to
keep away from contradictions. To illustrate how natural such
contradictions are to a primitive mind he mentions the BoronS
of central Brazil, who, according to Karl von den Steinen,
identify themselves with macaws. The red macaws are Borord
and, vice versa, the Borord assert that they are macaws. Ac-
cording to Ldvy-Bruhl this does not imply that, in their own

22

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN 23

belief, the BoronS will be changed after death into macaws ; they
firmly believe that, in spite of their human form, they actually
are macaws at the same time, “ just as if a larva asserted that
it is a butterfly [2] Now, if we look into von den Steinen’s
book for his statement about the ideas of the BoronS, we find
something very different. Like other South American Indians,
the BorortS believe in the transmigration of the soul. “ Soul ”
in the Borord language is bupi — ^which fact should interest
L6vy-Bruhl who denies the existence of a primitive conception
of the soul. During sleep the soul flies away from the body
in the shape of a bird and sees and hears many things. After
death a Borord man or woman is changed into a red macaw,
that is, into a bird, like the soul in the dream. After death
the medicine-men are also changed into other animals, for
instance into fishes. According to the belief of the Borord,
departed men of other tribes would be changed into other
kinds of animals ; the negroes for instance into black vultures.
K. von den Steinen himself, said the Indians, would, at some
time, be changed into a white heron, etc. [3]

Is there anything contradictory or “ prelogical ”, to use the
words of L6vy-Bruhl, in these ideas ? I certainly do not think
so. The idea that, after the death of the body, the human soul
may take up its abode in other bodies, even in those of animals,
is quite logical and as a matter of fact is found not only among
uncivilized peoples but also in the higher religions. It is held,
in fact, by thousands of civilized peoples to this very day. In
the lower cultures, as we shall see later, totemism, among other
things, is intimately connected with this idea. But the way
in which L^vy-Bruhl in the said passage uses von den Steinen’s
report on the Borord is very characteristic of his whole method.
He does not quote the statements of ethnologists as they stand
and allow them to speak for themselves, but alters them with
a view to bringing them into conformity with his own theories
and adduces flUem to support these same theories. It is easy
to see that, with such a method, we can prove almost any theory.
The same argument exactly meets us in Ldvy-Bruhl’s recent
theory that peoples of low culture have no idea of a soul.

Aldiough the thinking of so-called primitive peoples is at
bottom just as logical as that of civilized peoples, there are still
certain peculiarities which seem to be characteristic of an un-
developed intellect in general and which we must take into

±4 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

account if we are to understand their religious views. Among
these peculiarities there is the tendency, for instance, to generalize
hastily on occasional experiences and to assume a real causal
connection between phenomena and incidents which accidentally
follow each other in time. If, for example, in an Indian house,
somebody happens to fall ill and die shortly after a strange
guest has arrived, the stranger will in all probability be accused
of having brought the illness to the house and be regarded as
the real cause of the accident. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc, is the
Indian’s way of reasoning in such cases. I frequently had
experiences of this kind among the tribes I visited, and we
learn of similar experiences among other primitive races.

Neither animistic “ philosophy ” nor the primitive science
called “ magic ” or “ witchcraft ” would be possible, I believe,
without some tendency of this nature. But, at the same time,
it must be emphasized that the tendency to draw rash con-
clusions and make precipitate generalizations has, by no means,
been limited to “ primitive ” peoples, but appears also among
civilized peoples. And I presume that if a savage were in-
telligent enough to criticize certain modem theories on primi-
tive psychology and the logical absurdities which their authors
ascribe to uncultured peoples, he would wonder whether there
was not something “ prelogical ” in the thinking of the very
philosophers who formulated such theories.

Clearly, if a primitive mind were really so unable to reason
according to the laws of thought familiar to us, as has been
asserted by L6vy-Bruhl and his adherents, we should have
no means of understanding their religious ideas, for instance;
their thought and our civilized thought would clearly be
incommensurable. But happily it is not so. The more we are
able to penetrate into the psychology of uncultured peoples —
by no means impossible — the more we realize the inaccuracy
of the old view, especially common among theoretical anthro-
pologists, who, in primitive ideas and customs, could see
only a manifestation of ignorance, superstition, and inability
to think.

My own experience of the Indians, at any rate, is that most
of their “ superstitions ” have an underlying stratum of reality
and that their ideas of the world, of man and of life, however
naive they may seem to us, reveal on the whole both an extra-
ordinary power of observation and an acute logic. The premises.

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN

25

of course, may be, and are frequently, erroneous, and the con-
clusions accordingly appear wrong or even absurd, but this is
another matter. If, without being prejudiced by our “ civilized ”
ideas and preconceived theories, we try honestly to understand,
for instance, their animistic beliefs, undoubtedly, as I have said,
the basis of primitive religion, we shall soon find that they
are built up in an admirably logical way.

At all stages of religious evolution the essence of divinity is
mystery. What is “ Divine ” is always something m3rsterious,
wonderful, incomprehensible, something that awakens in man
sentiments of admiration, fear, and awe, at the same time as
it manifests itself as supernatural power. Rightly has it been
said that between the known and the unknown world is the
spark of religion kindled in man. A god who could immediately
be comprehended, the mystery of whom could be completely
penetrated by his worshippers, would cease simultaneously to
be a god. On the other hand, the Divine need not necessarily
be identical with the Sublime or with a Power infinitely elevated
above nature. On the contrary, in the lower religions it generally
enters into or coincides with nature. As a matter of fact, we
find on close inquiry that primitive man’s deeply rooted belief
in the power of all kinds of spirits, demons, and supernatural
powers to influence his destiny is due largely to his inability
to grasp the essence and connection of things, or to his lack
of knowledge of what we call natural laws.

To modem civilized man, existence is seen as a complex
whole, the parts of which stand in continual relation to one
another according to immutable laws. Nothing takes place
here that cannot be accoimted for by other similar processes
of nature. The scientific theory of causation alwa}rs explains
nature by herself, not by anything standing outside her. Such
a conception, however, is possible only where a higher in-
tellectud stage is reached. It presupposes a developed power
of thinkin g, the faculty of abstraction and generalization, and
of forming concepts and judgments. Only by the mental act
which subsumes the various elements of perception under
generic concepts do the former become clearly fixed and
classified, every experience becomes formalized and objectivated ;
in short, it is only by such a mental act that existence appears
intelligible to us.

26 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

Owing to his less developed mind, the savage must necessarily
have a different view of ^ings and phenomena in the world.
Thus his ideas in general, his ideas of spiritual beings, for
instance, seem to have a vague and indistinct character. For
an undeveloped mind it is equally difficult to form a clear and
definite conception of the concrete and individual as of the
typical and general. Psychologists have rightly shown that
peoples of low culture possess only to a limited extent the
power of abstraction and generalization. This would seem
to be so, for instance, from the fact that many primitive tribes
have special words only for the first numerals. Many of them
are said to be unable to count higher than five, denoting all
higher numerals simply by a word which means “ many ”.
This is the case, for example, with the Jibaro Indians of Western
Amazonas, although they are by no means among the most
primitive South American tribes. A Jibaro Indian, moreover,
cannot indicate a number in the abstract, but invariably counts
with the aid of his fingers or his toes and always begins from
“ one ”. The same is told of many other uncultured peoples,
and no doubt must be explained by their lack of the power
of abstraction. On the whole, words for abstract concepts
are rare or entirely lacking in the languages of primitive peoples.
To refer the particular to something general is very difficult
for them; to deduce a general rule with permanent validity
from what they have observed in individual cases does not
occur to them.

This mental peculiarity, of course, is not in contradiction
with what I have just stated about the tendency to generalize
rashly about single experiences. It is precisely this tendency
which is opposed to methodical scientific thought. It is
because he lacks power to form generic concepts that the laws
of nature are quite unknown to the savage, as, too, on the whole,
is the notion of necessity. The consequence is that, in many
cases, the natural connection between things and events in the
world is not realized by him. These are not viewed with regard
to the relations to other similar events nor referred to ffieir
natural causes. Much of what happens around him appears
to him merely as the result of chance or, more properly speaking,
of the capricious will of invisible supernatural agents.

Although I am well aware of the difficulty of making general
statements, more so because so-called primitive peoples repre-

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN 27

sent somewhat different stages of intellectual development, I
think that the above are psychological traits which, with sinall
variations, may be said to be common to all lower races of
mankind.

That this is so is shown above all by the relative uniformity
of their animistic beliefs. There is no doubt that the “ super-
stitions ” of the savage arise largely from his being incapable
of deeper thought. Nothing is more likely, in fact, to excite
superstitious fear in a primitive mind than the inability to
form clear conceptions about things perceived. A horse in
the dusk shies at the threatening form of a tree-stump beside
the road, although in daylight he would not notice it at all.
In his imagination it becomes a strange living being with
power perhaps to injure him; the instinct of self-preservation,
therefore, prompts him to be on his guard against the un-
known. For the same reason, the savage fears everything
strange and mysterious in nature. Everything that exceeds
his capability to understand and which strikes his imagination,
such as the deep forest and dense jungle where the wanderer
loses his way, the high mountain with its peculiarly shaped
rocks and dark abysses, the gloomy cave, the old hollow tree,
rare and dangerous animals, strange natural phenomena such
as thunder, lightning, and volcanic eruptions — all these things
and phenomena awaken in him a sense of something super-
natural and divine. To these he soon begins to give a more or
less concrete form.

It is the sentiment that is the primary trait of religion.
The ideas form rather a secondary element of it. From this
point of view we may find unsatisfactory Tylor’s definition of
religion as being simply a belief in spiritu^ beings. It lays
too much emphasis upon the intellectual side of religion, dis-
regarding the emotional side. The sense of the Supernatural
can be traced even in the higher animals, as may be inferred
from the instance just mentioned. The fear and awe which
domestic animals display during thunderstorms or earthquakes
is evidently closely akin to religious sentiment as it appears
in man.

The sense of awe in such animals is associated vrith another
feature in their psychical life which they have in common
with primitive peoples, namely, the tendency to personify
inanimate things. Darwin, who was the first to assert boldly

28

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

that, in regard to mental and moral faculties, there was no
fundament^ distinction between animals and man, mentions
an instance in his Descent of Man illustrating this tendency as
well as the sense of the Supernatural, with reference to his own
dog. The dog, an old and intelligent animal, was lying upon
the lawn on a windless day; at a little distance a slight breeze
occasionally stirred an open parasol which would have been
wholly disregarded by the dog had anyone stood near it. As
it was, every time the parasol slightly moved the dog growled
fiercely and barked. He must, Darwin adds, have reasoned
to himself in a rapid and unconscious manner that movement
without any apparent cause indicated the presence of some
strange living agent. [4] Similar instances are given by Professor
Romanes. He explains the strange behaviour of the animals
in these cases by the sense of the mysterious displayed by the
more intelligent among them. [5]

If sentiment is the primary element in religion, then clearly
to every sentiment there are always attached ideas, however
vague, of the thing which awakens it. Primitive man’s
propensity to deify the phenomena of nature would be difficult
to comprehend without understanding the very propensity
just hinted at, and existing, to a certain extent, even in the
higher animals, namely, unconsciously to obliterate the boundary
drawn by civilized man between the organic and the inorganic,
between animate and inanimate nature, and to endow even the
latter with life. The savage necessarily projects upon the objects
and phenomena of the external world the innate and intrinsic
consciousness of himself as a living subject, active, exercising
a will of his own, capable of emotions and passions, thus trans-
forming them into living deliberate subjects. Primarily, of
course, the savage animates such objects as, being capable of
motion, and as possessing the most important characteristic
of force, activity, and life; hence the principle that “ everything
that moves possesses life

But motionless inanimate things are also frequently vivified
in the same way. Even this view is not difficult to explain
psychologically. We must not forget that the idea of inanimate
matter, grasped by a primitive mind at all, does not play
any part in the consciousness of uncultured man. His know-
ledge is limited to the living, moving, sentient world around
him, other living beings with whom he enters into relations and

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN 29

has most dealings. Consequently, when his attention is aroused
by the perception of a sti^ng object the idea occurs to him
quite simply that this may be some living yet strange being.
Moreover, the very mental activity implied by the “ movement
of attention ” may, in some cases, explain this notion. When
the attention is directed towards the appearance of something
new, the perceiving subject receives from it a number of im-
pressions which more or less change the ideas then present
in his consciousness. Hence, when a strange and unfamiliar
object is brought suddenly within the field of consciousness,
there arises easily in an undeveloped mind the illusion of
activity on the part of the thing perceived. This consequently
becomes vivified. [6] The more, of course, the object in
question resembles some living being already familiar to the
perceiving mind, the more easily, % virtue of the law of
association, is the illusion felt.

Many errors to which uncultured man is prone in his daily
life arise from this view of the natural objects around him. A
savage who falls over a stone and hurts himself ascribes this
accident, for instance, to the action of the stone, which, con-
sequently, is looked upon by him as a living agent. When,
in a higher culture, we sometimes observe children and un-
educated people get angry with and beat inanimate things which
have caused them pain or displeasure in some way, ^is may
not perhaps be directly explained as a survival from a savage
state, but it is an expression anyhow of an inherent primitive
tendency of the kind indicated.

Starting from psychological facts of this kind, some modem
scientists have tried to find, in the religions of the lower
peoples, traces of a still earlier stage of religious thought than
the one represented by the belief in spirits, namely, of a pre-
ammistic stage. By no means can it be taken for granted, it
has been argued, that the savage, when he deifies the objects
of nature, really believes that they are animated by a “ soul ”
or “ spirit ”. The “ deification ” may only imply that he
simply imagines the object in question to be living and endowed
with power, an idea associated with the usual feeling of wonder
and awe awakened by the unknown and mysterious. The
stone worshipped is not thought to be the seat of a spirit or
soul, but merely a living agent endowed with power. The
old tree, revered as a sacred object, is not necessarily regarded

30 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

by its worshippers as being animated in the strict sense of
the word, but is conceived simply as a living being, water in the
same w^ay only as a living element, and so forth. This supposed
pre-animistic conception has been denoted by the word
ammatism (from ammatus, living). Children, too, it has been
said, are animatists without being animists. The child beats
the stove on which it has burnt itself or the chair on which it
has hurt itself, just as if they were living conscious agents.
In the same way, it has been argued, primitive peoples conceived
the objects of nature as living beings in analogy with man
himself, endowed with will and power, before they began to
apply to them animistic interpretations.

One may almost say that, as far as the beliefs of the lower
races are concerned, it is the idea of impersonal, non-animistic
“ power which has dominated the science of religion during
the last decades. It is true that in most cases scientists in
this field have adopted the “ pre-animistic theory without
founding their opinion on independent investigations.

The theory, however, includes two fundamental notions
which have frequently been confounded although they should
really be held apart. One is that already touched on and
denoted by the name “ animatism”. The other is that which
refers to the idea of “ power ” in the strict sense, and for which
a typical expression has been found in the mana of the
Melanesians, the word they use for the Supernatural. Dr.
R. R. Marett of Oxford was one of the first to set forth this
new theory in his Threshold of Religion, in 1909. In this work
both the conception termed “ animatism ” and the conception
of mana are explained in detail.

The word mana and the fundamental religious notion to
which it has reference were made known to the scientific
world by the writings of the English missionary Codrington.
In a letter to Max Muller, as early as in 1878, Codrington
had touched upon this primitive idea of the Supernatural
characteristic of the Melanesians and of other peoples of
Oceania, but in 1891, in his great work The Melanesians, he
expounded in detail, and illustrated with numerous instances,
the Melanesian belief in “ a supernatural power or a super-
natural influence"*. It affects everything which is beyond the
ordinary power of men and outside the common processes
of nature; it is present in the atmosphere of life, and attaches

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN 31

itself to persons and things. A conspicuous success is a proof
that a person has tnana, and certain forms of words are con-
sidered to have the same power for certain purposes. A stone
resembles a fruit. It is not like an ordinary stone, there is
certainly mana in it. It is laid at the root of a tree the fruit
of which resembles the stone. If the tree bear abundant fruits,
the thing is clear. The stone may also communicate mana to
other stones, and so forth. [7]

Mana, like the kindred Polynesian word tabu, has been
transformed into a term of world-wide application, and research
workers in the field of comparative religion have, in the last
decades, been eagerly seeking equivalents to it among other
peoples, both lower and higher. Analogous expressions, for
instance, are supposed to be the kahu of the Fijians, the tendi
of the Bataks, the manitu of the Algonquin Indians, the orenda
of the Iroquois, the huaca of the ancient Peruvians. In ancient
Scandinavian religion a typical expression for the idea of
supernatural power has been found in the word hamingja.
To complete the collection of terms which appear to have a
similar meaning, I add the Finno-Ugrian vdki, by which the
ancient Finns denoted an impersonal power, present every-
where in nature, and nend (literally: “ nose ”, ” anger ”), the
particular power or influence of the forest and the water. [8]

How easy it is in reality to find words of this kind in different
religions may be judged from the fact that it is now the custom
to interpret any native word for ” fetish ”, “ amulet ”, or
” magical medicine ” as an expression of the “ pre-animistic ”
supernatural power. We find this, for example, if we read
those chapters in the work of the Swedish archbishop N.
Soderblom on the origin of the belief in God which deal
with mana and kindred ideas. This author includes even the
Indian brahman and the varenah of the Avesta in the same
category of fundamental religious ideas. Even these words,
therefore, are, or at any rate were, originally nothing but
general expressions for the Supernatural, the impersonal
divine Power, which according to the hypothesis has nothing
to do with later ideas of souls or spirits. [9]

Independently of Dr. Marett, and with still more emphasis,
the well-known ethnologist, K. T. Preuss, has set forth the
theory of pre-animism, and is, perhaps, at present its
best-imown advocate. In a series of articles, published in

32 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

the years 1905 and 1906 in the Globus, on the origin of religion
and art, Preuss tried to show that among many primitive
peoples, particularly among several tribes of Central and
South America, there occur a great many magical and religious
rites which are quite independent of animism and have no
comiection whatever with the belief in spirits. In these
rites it is only a question of an impersonal magical power
(Zauberkraft) which is present in things and inanimate objects,
as in plants, animals, and men. [10]

The fact that Preuss has not notably changed his view
since the articles just mentioned were published appears from
his more recent little book on the Supreme Beings and the
mystic beliefs of the lower peoples, of 1926. In this book
Preuss expounds his pre-animistic theory in detail and the
primitive religious view of the world, as he understands it. [i i]
Taken as a whole, his pre-animistic “ Zaubertheorie ” reminds
one to a certain extent of Frazer’s well-known theory, as set
forth in The Golden Bough, according to which, in the evolution
of the ideas of the Supernatural, magic preceded religion
conceived as a belief in spirits.

As with similar other theories of modern comparative
sociology and the science of religion, so with “ pre-animism ”.
Having once gained the approval of a few scientists looked
upon as authoritative in questions of primitive religion, it has
been accepted uncritically by one student of religion after
the other. Just as some thirty years ago totemism was regarded
as the original form of religion and anthropologists were
eagerly seeking “ traces of totemism ” in the religions of all
lower peoples, so many scientists believe to-day that in the
Melanesian mana they have found the solution to some of
the most important problems of primitive religion. In fact,
together with “ totemism ” and “ monotheism ”, numa is
probably the most misused term in the modem science of
religion. In fact the theory of pre-animism has been set
forth by some modem students of religion not only as an
hypothesis, but almost as a demonstrated tmth.

Adopting a critical attitude we find, however, that the
theory is nothing but a constmction, unproved up to date
and, as far as I can see, unprovable. It is a pure construction,
for instance, when Mr. Clodd, following certain other pre-
animists, interprets the Melanesian mana as ” that very living

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN

33

stuff out of which demons, gods, and souls have slowly gathered
shape ”, stating subsequently that this “ Naturism ” or belief
in impersonal powers is prior to animism or the belief in
personal spirits. [12] Nowhere in Codrington’s work do I find
any support for tUs interpretation, and still less are we entitled
to generalize on such a view. If, for instance, an ethnologist
like Jochelson has really been able to state that the supreme
being of the Koryaks is nothing but “ the personification of
the vital/principle in nature taken in its entirety ” — ^which,
however, I take to be only his own subjective view — ^we should
be on our guard against assuming this to be the character of
the supreme beings everywhere, or the “ naturism ” hinted
at to be the expression of a world-wide primitive view. In
my own field of research. South America, at any rate I have
not found any “ naturism ” of this kind. I think, moreover, that
it is hardly compatible with the psychology of primitive man.

In our own day no primitive people is Imown to exist which
is not familiar with the idea of a soul. Prehistoric archaeology
showed that the same must have been the case with palaeolithic
man in Europe. When Professor Preuss states that the Cora
Indians of Mexico have no word for “ soul ” and that their whole
mythology of nature has been developed without any connection
with their animism, we may wonder whether, in making this
statement, Preuss has not been influenced by his own theories.
In any case, the fact that a people lacks a word for “ soul ”
does not necessarily prove that the corresponding notion is
unknown to it. Everjwhere, both in North and in South
America, animism appears to form the very basis of the
religion of the Indians. If, as well as the belief in a soul, we
find among certain peoples the idea of an impersonal magical
power, it is at best an open question how both these fundamental
beliefs are related and which of them is older.

As far as ” animatism ” is concerned, I have already shown
that, in the primitive savage, as well as in the higher animals,
we may observe a tendency to endow even inanimate nature
with a life similar to that in himself and his equals. I believe
we may ultimately assume a tendency of this kind behind that
animistic philosophy which sees in a tree, a stick, and a stone
an indwelling spiritual being or soul ; it may have co-
operated with other tendencies of thought in the formation
of his primitive belief in the spirits of nature and gods.

34

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

Theoretically, of course, we are at liberty to assume that
there was a time in the mental evolution of man when he
was still at an “ animatistic ” stage in bis conception of the
supernatural, but, in the absence of any evidence, such a
hypothesis is of little worth. The main question at the moment
is: Are there any primitive peoples of the present day, whose
conceptions of the Supernatural can be shown to be “ ani-
matistic ” in the sense given to this word by Dr. Marett, but
not animistic in the Tylorian sense? Dr. Marett holds this
to be the case ; holds, moreover, that it can be shown “ con-
clusively ” that, in some cases, “ animistic interpretations have
been superimposed on what previously bore a non-animistic
sense.” [13]

It is just this thesis that I am compelled to contradict. I
believe it is easy to show that the facts which Dr. Marett
interprets as being in support of his theory are equally open
to other interpretations. This is unfortunate because of the
great influence thay have had on modem students of primitive
religion. The ideas savages have about the “ Divine ” in
nature is not exhausted by the vague personification of which
Dr. Marett speaks. The analogous notion of children, who
are “ animatists without being at the same time animists ”, [14]
does not help us in the least. It would obviously be a great
mistake to draw conclusions from the psychology of children
as to the manner of thought characteristic of primitive man.
They may perhaps have certain mental traits in common,
but on the whole the savage, neither in thought nor actions,
can be compared with a child. Within the realm of religion
alone the essential difference between them appears in the
very fact, that all savage peoples whom we know, have developed
a real belief in spirits and gods which is lacking in the case of
children.

If we subject primitive ideas of the Supernatural to a close
investigation, we usually find they are much more concrete
than a superficial observer is inclined to believe. It is easy
to show, for example, that in ail those cases in which, according
to Dr. Marett, we have instances of an “ animatistic ” notion,
we have in reality animism pure and simple. In his interpreta-
tion of them Dr. Marett is obviously being influenced by his
preconceived opinion about " rudimentary ” religion. The
sources Dr. Marett uses in trying to prove his hypothesis

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN

35

are in most cases very doubtful, and his knowledge of the
ethnological literature in general seems to be rather limited.
Some of his instances may be analysed here.

Among other things Dr. Marett points out that such phe-
nomena, for example, as thunderstorms, eclipses, eruptions,
and so on, are apt to awake feelings of awe in primitive man
and be regarded as manifestations of the “ supernatural ” or
as “ powers ” in a general sense, without necessarily being set
down to the operation of spirits. “ Thus, when a thunder-
storm is seen approaching in South Africa, a Kafir village, led
by its medicine-man, will rush to the nearest hill and yell at
the hurricane to divert it from its course. Here we have awe
finding vent in what, on the face of it, may be no more than a
simple straightforward act of personification; . . . but it is
not animism in the strict scientific sense that implies the
attribution not merely of personality and will, but of ‘ soul ’
or ‘spirit’, to the storm.” [15]

However, the belief that thunderstorms, eclipses, and
volcanic eruptions are caused by powerful evil spirits, often
conceived directly as disembodied human souls, is probably
universal among savage peoples all over the world. In fact,
according to Dudley Kidd, one of our best authorities on the
Kafirs and other South African tribes, some of the natives
believe that thunder is caused by some old ancestor, whereas
others believe that it is caused by hostile spirits. ” The natives
of Zululand,” the same author tells us, ‘‘ believe that if one
examines the spot where lightning struck the ground, the shaft
of an assagai will be found, llie lightning is thus thought
to be some dazzling spear hurled through the air.” The Kafirs,
therefore, “ sometimes place assagais through the roof when
the storm begins, thinking that these will ward off the
lightning.” [16]

With this purely animistic belief of the Kafirs we may
compare the idea of the Jibaros known to me from personal
observation. They believe that, during thunderstorms, spirits
of departed Jibaro warriors are running through the air, their
custom being on such occasions to shout loudly and brandish
their lances against the clouds to frighten away the super-
natural enemies. [17] Here we have a remarkable uniformity
of beliefs between peoples in different parts of the world who
cannot be assumed to have influenced each other. It would

36 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

be easy to add similar instances from other quarters of the
globe. It is strange that, in support of his pre-animistic theory,
Dr. Marett should have adduced one of the most typical
instances of animism afforded by the religion of the lower
peoples.

Another of Dr . Marett’s instances refers to the South American
Indians. “ The Fuegians,” we are told by Admiral Fitzroy,
“ abstain from killing young ducks on the ground that if they
do, ‘ Rain come down, snow come down, hail come down,
wind blow, blow, very much blow.’ The storm is sent by
a ‘ big man ’ who lives in the woods.” [i8] Now it must be
remarked, first and foremost, that Admiral Fitzroy is a very
doubtful authority on the Fuegians and that his statements
about their religious ideas can only be accepted as far as they
are confirmed by other observers. That the “ big man of the
woods ” of whom Fitzroy speaks should be a sort of “ supreme
being ” in whom the killing of young ducks awakens moral
indignation with subsequent chastisement of the guilty ones,
as interpreted by Andrew Lang, is out of the question. But
I am just as little able to find in this instance any case of
animatism as understood by Dr. Marett.

Fortunately there are other sources which tell us enough
about Fitzroy’s “ big man ” to enable us to establish his real
character. 'Thus Bove relates that the Jahgans, among other
things, believe in a “ devil ”, called Curspic, who at times
punishes them “ for their indifference ” by sending them
winds, hail, and snow. The rainbow is regarded as a sign of
his anger and is therefore the object of magic rites. This
statement is confirmed by the companion of Bove, the geologist
D. Lovisato. [19] It is evident that Bove’s Curspic or “ devil ”
is identical with Fitzroy’s “ big man ”. As to this Curspic we
again get information from no less authority than Thomas
Bridges, the English missionary who lived among the Jahgans
for forty years. According to his explanation of the etymology
of the word Curspic {cujpik, kachpihh) it is not a proper noun
at all but the general word of the Jahgans for “spirit,” more
strictly speaking “ evil spirit ”. “ Their evil nature ”, says
Bridges, “ is a belief so wide-spread, that the word kachpikh
is applied to every person who has a bizarre and evil char-
acter.” [zo] It is quite natural that such a demon is believed
to torment the natives with snow and hail, and rains. I may

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN 37

add that among the Chaco Indians, who are related culturally
to the Fuegians, the cold south wind which, even in the Chaco,
sometimes brings with it hail and ice, is universally ascribed
to the action of evil spirits, as are also the rainbow and other
striking meteoric phenomena.

In short, if we have not once again pure animism in the
instance mentioned by Dr. Marett in regard to the Fuegians,
I confess that I do not know what is meant by this word.
Here again Dr. Marett’s misinterpretation has been possible
only by his using a source of secondary importance, whereas
he has ignored those authorities who could have thrown light
on the question.

Dr. Marett’s other instances of “ animatism ” are still more
insignificant and are regarded even by himself as dubious.
One of his “ cases ” may still be dealt with because it touches
on a question of particular interest. I refer to his interpretation
of the savage theory of disease, or more stricdy speaking, that
kind of disease ascribed to witchcraft. Dr. Marett’s opinion
is that animism is not primarily, but only secondarily connected
with the religious Awe in the presence of this kind of disease.
“ There is a large and miscellaneous number of diseases,” he
says, ” that primitive man attributes to witchcraft, without
at the same time necessarily ascribing them to the visitation
of bad spirits. Thus a savage will imagine that he has a crab
or a frog, some red ants or a piece of crystal, in his stomach,
introduced by magical means. . . . To remedy such supposed
evils the native doctor betakes himself to the sucking cure
and the like, whilst he meets spirits with a more or less distinct
set of contrivances, for instance the drum or rattle to frighten
them, and the hollow bone to imprison them.” [21]

Again this exposition is clearly contradicted by the beliefs
actually held by the lower peoples. That Dr. Marett’s “ pre-
animistic ” explanation of primitive witchcraft is erroneous,
I have myself shown with particular reference to the South
American Indians. [22] Both my investigations and those of
other ethnologists have made it quite clear that the Indian
theory of witchcraft is animistic throughout. Both among the
tribes of Western Amazonas and among the Chaco Indians,
for instance, the sorcerers always operate in alliance with evil
demons when they throw their spells to harm other people;
the “ arrow ”, although in itself a material object, is always

38 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

regarded as the embodiment of an evil spirit who penetrates
into the body and causes the pains. In the same way, the
medicine-men, when trying to cure evils inflicted by other
wizards, are invariably assisted by certain spirits over whom
they have acquired influence. The same theory of witchcraft
was found by the German ethnologist Koch-Griinberg among
the Indians of Guiana. [23] Likewise Mr. Barbrooke Grubb
tells us of the Lengua wizards in the Chaco, that “ when they
desire to afflict their victims with the presence in their bodies
of such things as beetles, fish-bones, etc., they can only do so
through the aid of the kilyikhama (evil spirits).” [24] We can
establish the same, for instance, with regard to the shamanistic
practices of the Asiatic peoples, the witchcraft practised by
the Malays of Indonesia, by various peoples of Africa, and
so forth.

In short. Dr. Marett has not been able to describe a primitive
religious view which is wholly independent of animism. Are
there any other ethnological facts that may possibly be inter-
preted as instances of “ animatism ”?

“ Everything lives,” says a Chuckchee shaman. “ The
lamp wanders about. The walls of the hut has its voices;
the skins that sleep in the bags speak in the evenings; the
reindeer-homs that lie on the graves, get up at night and
wander about on the burial-place.” The quotation is taken
from a work on the shamanism in Northern Asia, [25] and the
author adds that, in this case, the very objects of nature are
conceived as independent living and acting beings. The case
might therefore be interpreted as animatism and not as animism.

This conclusion, however, would evidently be premature.
From the statements of the same author and from those of
other authors on the Siberian tribes, it is most clearly seen
that their shamanism is based wholly on animistic ideas.
When by means of his drum and other devices the shaman
has fallen into a state of ecstasy, he enters into communication
with the spirits who fill him with supernatural power and
knowledge. It is on these occasions in particular that the whole
of nature seems to him to be animated. Of the Chuckchees we
are expressly told that, according to their belief, the spirits
not only appear in the shape of diflerent animals, but al^ in
the shape of utensils, implements, and other inanimate things.
What ^e shaman told of the skins that ” sleep in the bags

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN

39

and speak at night ” or the reindeer-homs that “ wander
about on the burial-places ” probably refers to the spirits
animating these objects. The idea that the soul or vital power
of an animal is particularly concentrated in such parts of the
body as the skin, horns, claws, and teeth, is almost universal
in primitive culture. In any case, from general statements
such as the one just quoted, evidently not based on close
inquiry into the matter, no decisive conclusions can be drawn.

We are told of the Syrjanes, a Finno-Ugrian people in
Northern Russia, that, when they move to a strange tract of
land, they are in the habit of washing the face and the hands
in the river flowing by the new dwelling-place, in order that
the “ anger ” {nena) of the water may not stick to them. [26]
Similarly the Samoyedes wash themselves every time that they
arrive at a new river during a boating excursion. “ The water
has life,” says the Tsheremiss, “ it streams from one place
to the other, serves man and propels his boat.” [27]

We might be inclined to assume in these cases that the water
is conceived simply as a living element endowed with power,
and that there does not enter any idea of a soul at all. This
would be a mistake. The idea of an impersonal magical power
inherent in the water is quite conrunon among peoples who
believe in souls or spirits animating the water. It can be shown,
moreover, that the “ power ” which the water is believed to
possess is due precisely to the water spirit.

Thus among the Finno-Ugrian peoples the belief in water
spirits is quite common. The Tsheremisses, for instance,
attribute to water a “ free-soul ”, called 5 rt. When the soul
of the water disappears, the water gets ” sick ”, it becomes
muddy and smells. If man drinks “ sick ” water, he will
fall ill. The soul of the water becomes a fairy of the river or
lake, who at the same time is closely associated with the material
water. If the fairy disappears, the water will run dry. Whither
the spirit of the water moves, thither the water is assembled,
and so forth. At times, the “ soul ” or tutelary spirit of the
water may also assume a visible shape. [28] Many instances
of the same kind could be mentioned, but I shall have an
opportunity to deal again with these questions in connec-
tion with the spirits of inanimate nature.

In short, it seems to me very doubtful whether any primitive
view exists which may be termed “ animatism ” ; as far as this

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

40

word implies a religious view is wholly independent of animism.
In South America, where I subjected the ideas of the Indians
to a detailed analysis, I could not find anything but animism
pure and simple. The same seems to be true of the religious
ideas found among primitive natives in other parts of the
world. The theorj^ of “animatism”, as defined by Dr. Marett,
can hardly be supported except by the “ incomplete observa-
tions ’’ of superficial travellers. As far as I can see, the whole
word should be discarded as a term in the science of religion.

The “ power on the other hand, no doubt exists, but the
place to be assigned to it in the evolution of religion, is not
the one suggested by the pre-animists. Professor Preuss,
who appears as the special advocate of the theory of pre-
animistic “ power is no more fortunate in his arguments
than Dr. Marett. Even he supports them with a number of
facts where the animistic conception is quite obvious. This
is so with Preuss ’s assertion that the curious ceremonies which
the medicine-men of the Boror6 in the interior of Brazil per-
form with the slaughtered game before they eat it, are to be
explained from their desire to paralyse the impersonal “ magical
power emanating from the body and to which the fortunate
hunter is above all exposed. [29]

Rites of this kind occur all over the world and they seem
to be due invariably to animistic ideas, as has been shown, for
instance, by J. G. Frazer: it is considered necessary to pro-
pitiate the soul of the slaughtered animal the revenge for which
would otherwise turn against the hunter. The ceremonies
performed at one time by Finns and the Laplanders after the
killing of a bear had thus for their object to propitiate the
soul of the bear. It was exactly the same with the Boror6.
Of them von den Steinen expressly tells us that, according to
their belief, souls of dead bari or medicine-men took up their
abode in those very animals which were most appreciated as
food. [30] It is true that Preuss asserts this to be a “ later
idea invented to explain the rite in question, but he adduces
no evidence in support of his view.

It is a serious thing when obvious misinterpretations of
facts gain ground in ethnology, are approved of by other
scientists and referred to as “ evidence for far-reaching
theories. In this way false dogmas are easily created which
are apt to lead scientists astray. The old dogmas on ** primary

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN 41

monotheism ”, on ” totemism ”, and so forth, should serve as
warnings. It is by no means an uncommon thing to find
now in modem literature on primitive religion, statements to
the effect that Marett, Preuss, and others have “ proved ”
the existence of a purely animatistic or at least non-animistic
view among primitive peoples.

Nor does the theorizing on more or less mystic terms about
the religion of different peoples, translated by ethnologists
and philologists with such words as ” power ”, “ supernatural
influence ”, or the like, help us much. Their interpretation
will always depend on the subjective view of the scientist
using them. [31] At any rate, it is not possible by such a
philological method to solve the problem of the impersonal
supernatural power and its relation to the belief in souls and
spirits. It is necessary first to analyse carefully the religious
phenomena to which these terms refer. This has been little
done except in regard to the fundamental term mana in Melan-
esia and the orenda of the Iroquois.

As to mana, it is important to state, that, according to
Codrington himself, this “ supernatural power or influence ”
of the Melanesians always has its origin in a person, a living
or a dead one. “ This power, though itself impersonal,” we
are told, “ is always connected with some person who directs
it: all spirits have it, ghosts generally, some men. If a stone
is found to have a supernatural power it is because a spirit
has associated itself with it. A dead man’s bone has with it
mana, because the ghost is with the bone ; a man may have so
close a connection with a spirit or ghost that he has mana in
himself also, and can so direct it to effect what he desires.
All conspicuous success is a proof that a man has mana; his
influence depends on the impression made on the people’s
mind that he has it.” If a man has been successful in fighting,
it is not through his own qualities, but ” he has certainly got
the mana of some deceased warrior to empower him, conveyed
in an amulet of a stone round his neck, or a tuft of leaves in
his belt, in a tooth hung upon the finger of his bow hand,
or in the form of words with which he brings supernatural
assistance to his side.” [32]

It is difficult to understand how statements as inequivocal
as these, could have ever been adduced in support of any pre-
animistic theories. Moreover, Codrington’s explanation, that

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

42

mana is always connected with spirits, ghosts, or men, is
confirmed by a more recent student of the Melanesians, Mr.
Hocart. He expressly says that mana is a permanent attribute
of ghosts, spirits, and persons, who thereby respond to prayers
and charms. “ So far from being pre-animistic,” he continues,
“ the word is out and out spiritualistic : it is almost, if not
entirely, confined to the action of ghosts and spirits who,
whatever their origin, now go under the same name as the ghosts :
tomate in Mandegusu, kalou in Fiji, attta in Wallis Island, aitu
in Samoa. It would seem that the word is simply a technical
term belonging to a spiritualistic doctrine which it is the task
of ethnology to reconstruct.” [33] Further, when Codrington
adds that all departed souls have not mana and that those
persons who possessed the power in their life-time have it also
after death, this by no means conflicts with the view that,
wherever mana occurs, it is still of animistic origin. The
medicine-men, for example, are persons above all with a
“ strong soul ” which enables them to bewitch or cure people.
On the other hand, there are persons, especially women and
children, whose soul has so little “power” that it is practically
non-existent. They may therefore be said to lack mana.

When, after len^y and learned discussions, Sdderblom in
his work on the origin of the belief in gods, arrives at the
result that mana and soul cannot be derived from each other,
but are quite different things, he does it only on the erroneous
assumption, founded to a certain extent in Tylor’s definition
of animism, that animism always and necessarily means a
belief in “ personal ” spiritual beings and is incompatible with
the idea of an impersonal magical power or influence. This,
however, is by no means the case. Bearing this in mind, we
need not wonder that even the Iroquois or Huron orenda turns
out to be a power of the spirit or soul and consequently is of
animistic origin.

In his article “Orenda and a Definition of Religion”, published
in the American Anthropologist ^ our most important authorit)’
on this mystic religious term, the American Hewitt — him-
self of Iroquois descent — gave information about the orenda,
showing that, in meaning, it is very near the conception of mana.
As in Melanesia mana, so among the Iroquois the orenda is
attributed above all to the medicine-man. “ A shaman is
one whose orenda is great, powerful ; a fine hunter is one whose

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN 43

orenda is fine, superior in quality. When a hunter is successful
in the chase, it is said, he baffled, thwarted their orenda, i,e.
the orenda of the quarry. ... A prophet or soothsayer is
one who habitually puts forth or effuses his orenda and thereby
learnt the secrets of the future. ... Of one who is about to
bewitch another male person, it is said he is preparing his
orenda for or against him. ‘ It is an evil orenda that struck
him ’, is said of one who, it is beUeved, died from being be-
witched,” [34] and so forth. There can be no mistake that
in all these instances we are dealing simply with that superior
power of the soul, capable of stimulation by artificial means,
which according to primitive view is possessed in particular by
the medicine-man but in a greater or lesser degree exists also in
ordinary persons. Thus the South American Indians have
precisely the same idea as the Iroquois and Hurons, although
they generally have no special word to denote this mysterious
spiritual power of the wizards and medicine-men.

A more ambiguous term is perhaps the Algonquian manitom.
In many cases, it seems to be used in the same sense as the
Huron orenda, denoting an impersonal magical power; in
other cases, if we may trust our literary sources, it is used to
denote mythical beings and spirits, or even the highest god or
divinity. On a term used in so many different senses, it is
safest not to build any definite theory as to the original
conception of the Supernatural. [35]

A few words may be added as to the Finnish vdhi, mentioned
above. In primitive Finnish religion the word undoubtedly
signified, among other things, a supernatural “power”, but its
origin, as Professor K. Krohn has clearly shown, is purely
animistic. Vdki in the Finnish language means “ men ”,
“ people ”, as well as “ power ”, which meanings the word
already had in primitive times. Thus the ancient Finns spoke
about “ the people of the burial-place ” (kalmanvdkt), meaning
thereby the spirits of the dead who were believed to lead their
own life on the place where the corpses had been buried. The
word vdki referred both to this “ people ” and to the supernatural
power proceeding from them. The sorcerers were able to
compel the vdki of the burial-places to enter into their service,
and at the same time took possession of their “ power ”. This
happened by the sorcerer procuring a small quanti^ of mould
proceeding from the body interred. The mould had to be

44 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

taken from a grave where a person who had died of a real
disease had been buried, for only the corpse of such a person
contained vdki. Likewise, according to ancient Finnish belief,
the viiki of the wood and of the water derived its power from
the spirits of the dead who inhabited the wood and the
water. [36]

It is remarkable that those students of religion who accepted
the theorj^ of pre-animism, should never have thought it
necessary to take into account the cultural stage occupied by the
different peoples among whom the idea of a “supernatural power”
appears in a more or less characteristic form. As 1 have already
stated, no primitive people exists who, in its practical religion,
would deal exclusively with impersonal “ powers ”, completely
ignoring spirits or demons. To be able to prove that the idea
of supernatural power represents a primitive notion even in a
relative sense, it would be necessary at any rate to show that,
among peoples standing at the lowest stages of intellectual and
cultural development, impersonal “ powers ” play a more im-
portant part than spirits and demons, and that at higher stages
this “ naturism ” — to use Mr. Clodd's expression — is disappear-
ing, giving way to real animism. Far from being the case,
however, the ver\^ reverse can be proved to hold tnie. Imper-
sonal powers, with apparently no connection with the belief in
spirits, appear in their most characteristic form among half-
civilized peoples, whereas among peoples standing somewhat
higher in culture, such as Melanesians and Polynesians, Iroquois
and Algonquins, the connection between the power and the
soul is still, as a rule, quite conspicuous. On the other hand,
tribes who, as far as we can judge, stand lowest in the scale of
cultural development, show so strong a tendency to personify
the objects of religious belief, that “ powers ” hardly exist at
all, except, as with the power called tabuy in immediate con-
nection with a spirit or soul from which it proceeds.

Speaking of the religion of the South American Indians, Dr.
Westermarck remarks incidentally, ” It is interesting to find
that the notion of impersonal energy seems to be much less
conspicuous and the tendency to personify the cause of wonder
greater, among the South American Indians than among the
much more civilized natives of Morocco. Facts of this kind may
be worth considering in the discussions on animism and pre-
animism, and on the priority of magic or religion.” [37] As a

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN

45

matter of fact, it is precisely such half-civilized peoples as the
natives of Morocco, also purely Semitic peoples, and again
Indians and Iranians, Greeks, and Romans, who afford the
most characteristic instances of the idea of supernatural power
or influence.

We can study it best in connection with such notions as those
of “ evil and sickness, sin, blessing, and curse. In Morocco,
for instance, the curse is regarded as a harmful magical substance,
a sort of miasma, which destroys or harms the person upon whom
it falls. In the Old Testament, for example, those forms of
curses which are called aldh and keldlah seem to be conceived
in this way ; in other words, as independent magical energies
acting mechanically, as also the blessing berakhah. [38] Hence
the blessing which Isaac erroneously gave to his son Jacob in
consequence of his fraud, could not be withdrawn even after
the fraud had been discovered and automatically produced its
effects. According to Plato, the curse of a father or a mother
corrupted everything with which it came in contact. Severe
punishment therefore was prescribed for anybody who assaulted
his father. Similarly the Romans ascribed such efficacy to
certain dreadful curses that, according to their belief, those
persons on whom they fell would never escape their effects.

Closely related to the notion of blessing and curse as magical
energies is the materialistic conception of sin and disease. The
conception of sin and of sickness as purely material powers or
substances which can be transmitted mechanically from one per-
son to another or be loaded on a scapegoat, is common among half-
civilized peoples such as those just mentioned. In Morocco, for
instance, sickness is transmitted to a tree by tying a rag to it. [39]
Superstitious practices of this kind are met with throughout the
whole world. Their existence survivals, even among civilized
peoples, shows the tenacity with which ideas of this kind are
maintained even at higher stages of culture. In distant places
in Northern Europe it is still customary to cure toothache by
picking the aching tooth with a small stick and afterwards
driving the stick into a tree. In this way, it is believed, “ sick-
ness is transmitted to the tree. [40]

In fact, modern popular belief affords the most characteristic
instances of an abstract supernatural power or influence which, as
far as we can now judge, has little or nothing to do with the belief
in spirits. As with “ sickness ”, so with the curse — for instance

46 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

the conditional self-curse at taking an oath — is often regarded
by common people as a harmful purely material substance,
charged with supernatural energy, against which it is possible to
protect oneself by certain precautionary measures. According
toapopular belief prevailing in Ostrobotnia in Northern Finland,
one may aimihilate a himter’s precision of aim by invoking the
devil inrmediately after the shot is heard in the forest and saying :
“ May you shoot the Devil with your gun.” If, however, the
hunter should happen to hold the hand against the mouth of his
gun when the curse is pronounced, it will remain ineffective. [41]
The fertility of the fields, just as the faculty of the cows to
produce milk, is also personified into abstract “ powers ” which
can be transmitted by material means from one place to the other.
According to a popular belief, formerly prevailing among the
Swedes of Finland, good luck in milking is secured by dragging
a sheet along the neighbour’s meadow on the Midsummer Eve,
until it becomes wet with dew. Then the water is wrung out
of the sheet into the milking-pail and some more water added,
whereupon the cows, in their appointed turn, are allowed to
drink from the pail. In this way the ‘ ‘ milk-luck ” is stolen from
the neighbour. [42] Numerous other instances of the same
kind could be quoted, but the above may suffice.

Curiously enough, some students have contended that in
practices of this kind, surviving in part in the midst of higher
civilization, we have survivals of really “ primitive ” ideas; in
fact, they have even been adduced as evidences of a pre-animistic
view. Thus Professor M. P: N. Nilsson, in a work on primitive
religion, makes the following statement as to the ideas of sickness
and death prevailing among uncultured peoples; ‘‘ Death is
one of the dangerous supernatural powers ; . . . hence the dead
person is dangerous and tabooed. It is the same with the sick
person. . . . Often, however, attempts are made to remove the
sickness-producing power. It is conceived as materially as when
somebody eats the heart of a lion in order to become strong and
brave : the sick one is washed and rubbed with mud and the like,
or emetics are given him. The water or the mud is believed to
contain the stuff of sickness ; it is therefore removed, thrown into
the sea, buried or destroyed, and thus the power producing
disease is thoroughly made away with.” [43]

A notion like this, implying that sickness is simply a kind of
impersonal material power or substance, is by no means char-

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN

47

acteristic, however, of “ primitive ” peoples. On the contrary,
it belongs most clearly to an advanced stage of culture. The
power, originally springing from a “ personal ” spirit or soul,
is, as it were, detached from its natural substratum and hypo-
stasized into an independent and more or less material thing.
Peoples occupying the lowest stages of culture have an entirely
different theory of disease. According to their idea, all illnesses
and sufferings are caused by evil spirits or demons which in one
way or another have penetrated into the body. On the whole,
I think we can make no greater mistake than to take the abstrac-
tions of modern popular belief — its ideas of supernatural powers
and the like — to be genuine expressions of a really primitive
mode of thought.

The eminent German psychologist W. Wundt has rightly
observ^ed, as an argument against pre-animism, that it makes the
evolution of thought proceed from abstract to concrete, whereas
its real course must have been the very reverse. [44] It seems
difficult to me to render this objection invalid, A theory which
would make religion begin with a belief in impersonal magical
powers and explain, for instance, mana as “ that very living
stuff out of which demons, gods, and souls have slowly gathered
shape ”, is founded on a psychological impossibility : it overlooks
that strong and constant tendency to personify the object of the
religious awe and reverence which is characteristic of primitive
man. The savage does not try, with his magical conjurations or
other simple rites, to influence any “ living stuff ” or a super-
natural energy or influence, but spiritual beings which are
vaguely endowed with human will and appetites and super-
human power. This point of view seems to me to be
decisive when we have ultimately to estimate the “ pre-
animistic theory ”.

Still more clearly than was the case at the time when Tylor
wrote his Primitive Culture has modem ethnology shown the
enormous importance of animism in primitive religion. Almost
any ethnological work, which treats of religion of uncultured
peoples, bears witness to this. Again, pre-animism, in spite of
the confusion it has brought about in the conceptions, has had
this for consequence, that the ideas the lower peoples entertain
about the Supernatural, have been made the object of more
detailed studies. The term “ animism ” must evidently now be
taken in a somewhat broader sense than the one in which it was

48 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

taken by Tylor. Above all, the question is : What is the relation
of animism to magic? Even from some of the facts already
adduced it was seen that the idea of an impersonal supernatural
power or influence was in many cases secondary, in fact, to the
idea of a soul. This question, however, cannot be successfully
dealt with until we have examined more closely the conception
of soul. This will be my task in the following chapter.

CHAPTER III

PRIMITIVE CONCEPTION OF THE SOUL

T YLOR’S well-known definition of the soul runs as follows:

“It is a thin, unsubstantial human image, in its nature
a sort of vapour, film, or shadow; the cause of life and thought
in the individual it animates; independently possessing the
personal consciousness and volition of its corporeal owner,
past or present; capable of leaving the body far behind to
flash swiftly from place to place; mostly impalpable and
invisible, yet also manifesting physical power, and especially
appearing to men waking or asleep as a phantasm separate
from the body of which it bears the likeness; able to enter
into, possess or act in the bodies of other men, of animals, and
even of things.*’ [i]

This definition of Tylor’s may be completed by another
which has special reference to the ideas of certain natives of
the Malay Archipelago. Referring to the religious ideas of
these Malay tribes, the Dutch missionary Wameck states
among other things: “ To the animist the soul is something
entirely different from what we understand it to be. It is
an elixir of life, a life stuff, which is found everywhere in
nature. Man has two souls, one of which, the bodily soul,
pertains to him during his life-time. The other soul, the shadow
soul, emerges only when the man dies. The soul of the living
man is conceived of as a kind of life-stuff, indestructible and
animating alternately this man or that. Among peoples of
lower grade the soul-stuff is conceived impersonally, as a vital
power which, at the death of its present possessor, passes
over to something else, man, animal, or plant. Higher developed
peoples conceive the soul as a refined body, to some extent
an alter-ego, a kind of man writhin the man. . . . But it is so
independent and incalculable a thing that it may at any moment
leave him for a longer or shorter period, as for example in
dreams, when it is frightened, or when it thinks itself insulted.
The well-being of the man depends upon its moods. It can

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

50

be nourished, strengthened, and augmented; it can also be
weakened, diminished, and enticed away. . . . The soul
pervades the whole body, all the members of which are sharers
in the soul-stuff. ... In man and beast this soul-stuff is
found especially abundant in the head. . . . Head-hunting
has its root in this idea. The vital power and courage of the
dead man is appropriated by him who possesses his skull.
Medicine and magic are made out of human heads. . . .
There is much soul-stuff in the blood, for life ebbs away with
the blood. Strength is imparted by drinking the blood of
the slain foe. . . .

“ Soul-stuff is ascribed to the placenta. There is a mysterious
connection between it and the child, its ‘ elder brother *. The
decayed piece of umbilical cord is carefully preserved. The
hair also contains much soul powder. The sweat also, as a
secretion of the body, contains soul-stuff, and as far as it
communicates itself to the clothes, these become saturated
with soul-stuff. A man’s name is closely connected with his
soul. It is therefore holy and should not be mentioned except
when necessar)'. No one should utter his own name. . . .
The soul does not hesitate to leave men if anything displeases
it. Hence caution must be used in chastizing children. Give
them their own w^ay lest the sensitive little soul leave them
and they die. . . . Whilst the soul is represented in soul-stuff,
that soul-stuff is also ascribed to animals and plants. Objects
w^hich are of value to men are thought to be animated. Soul
is ascribed to the hearth, the house, the boat, the hatchet, iron,
and many other instruments. The souls of men, animals,
plants, and even those of lifeless things invigorate one another.
One can augment or invigorate one’s own soul-stuff through
that of others. The important thing in eating and drinking
is not so much the matter of the food as its soul-stuff. No
animistic heathen therefore expects the gods or spirits to
consume the material of the food which he places before them
as an offering, but only its soul-stuff. The flesh of an animal
that is eaten produces an effect on man corresponding to the
qualities of the animal in question.” [2]

I have quoted this statement at len^h because I think that in
Wameck’s definition all aspects of the primitive soul are clearly
set forth. An American anthropologist, J. W. Chapman, has
pointed out that this definition, although, properly speaking.

PRIMITIVE CONCEPTION OF THE SOUL 51

it refers only to ideas current among the Malays, holds true in
all essential details of the ideas of the soul found among certain
North American Indians. For my own part I believe that we
may generalize still more and say that it expresses a view which,
with small variations, is encountered among the lower peoples
all over the world. The extent, for instance, to which the
South American Indians, whose animistic ideas I have sub-
jected to a detailed study, agree with the Malays in their con-
ception of the soul, will appear, I think, from the facts I shall
mention later. As to the Malays, a statement much like
Warneck’s about their animism has been made by another
Dutch missionary and student of religion, A. C. Krujt. The
observations of both are confirmed by the eminent ethnologist
A. W. Nieuwenhuis. The only reservation he makes to the
“peculiar terminology “ of these writers is their use of the
name “soul-stuff** to what may simply be called “soul *’. [3]
This, however, is due to the fact that the “soul** is conceived
by primitive peoples partly as a personal being, partly in a more
impersonal way.

It is not easy to include in a definition w^hich aims at world-
wide application all the diverse ideas which savage peoples
connect with their conception of the soul. Primitive peoples
are not accustomed to work out their ideas in a logical way and
to bring them into a system. This does not mean, of course,
that their thinking is actually “prelogical **, but it means that
their ideas necessarily must seem to us confused or even con-
tradictory, and in any case difficult to understand.

Thus the “personal ’* soul may be dissolved incidentally into
an impersonal power, without apparently the primitive thinkers
themselves being conscious of the transformation. On the
one hand, the soul is thought of as a shadow-like image of the
body, from which it frees itself in the moment of death. Again,
it is believed that something of the soul remains in the dead
body, particularly in the bones, just as during a person’s life-
time it is thought to be concentrated for instance in a piece of
his nail, a lock of his hair, a drop of his blood. When the body
is buried, the soul is believed to follow the corpse to the grave
or to go to a distant land of the dead, but this does not prevent
the savage from fancying at the same time that it enters into an
animal, a plant, and so forth. It is possible, however, as I said,
that contradictions of this kind are apparent only, and exist for

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

52

the civilized obsenTr simply because of his inability to under-
stand the primitive peoples* train of thought.

Wundt has drawn attention to the fact that among the lower
peoples the conception of the soul appears in two forms: one
soul is that which Wundt calls the body-soul {Korperseele)^ by
which he means the soul present in different parts of the body
or the vital power; the other is the one called free-souly identified
with the breath and with the shadow {Hauchseeley Schattenseele)y
and which is more or less independent of the body. [4] The dis-
tinction made here by Wundt in regard to the conception of the
soul, and which is also implied in Wameck’s definition, is of
great importance. As we shall find later, magic in some of
its most characteristic forms is founded on the idea of a
body-soul.

It seems ver\^ doubtful to me, however, w^hether here \vc are
really concerned with tw’o quite different conceptions of the
soul distinguishable even chronologically from one another.
It is easy to conjecture, of course, as has been done by Wundt,
that the “ body-soul ” represents the “ primitive ** notion and
that the idea of the soul as a shadow' has arisen later. But in
the absence of any certain evidence we cannot form a reliable
theory' on the matter. It should be remembered that both
conceptions occur among all lower peoples at the present time.
The idea of the body-soul, at any rate, did not disappear with
the formation of the idea of a breath- or shadow-soul. If we
may trust the ethnological sources, there are some higher
savage peoples who are able to keep both conceptions of the
soul apart to such an extent that they speak of two souls in man,
denoted by different names.

Among these are the Malays, who call the mobile breath- or
shadow-soul bruwQy whereas the soul more intimately connected
with the body is called ton lutoa. Alw^ays restless, the bruwa-
soul for insignificant reasons flies away from the body even
during man’s life-time, but can be brought back by the sorcerers
by suitable means. All feelings of anguish, painful dreams,
accidents, and maladies are due to this part of the man’s per-
sonality occasionally leaving the body. In the moment of death
the bruwa leaves the body for ever and goes to the realm of the
dead, Apu Kesio. The other soul, ton luwuy remains intimately
connected with the body during the whole life-time. After death
this soul also detaches itself from the body, but remains in its

PRIMITIVE CONCEPTION OF THE SOUL 53

immediate neighbourhood and follows it to the burial-place,
where it roams about, often in the shape of an animal. [5]

It seems to me that, in the ton luwa of the Malays, we have
simply a further development of the idea of a “ body-soul
Most other uncultured peoples have no particular name for this
kind of soul and hardly distinguish it consciously from the
free-soul : hence there is often an apparent contradiction in
their conception of the soul. To denote the body-soul some
people use a word which some modem writers have erroneously
translated with the word “ power This happens, for instance,
with what the Malays of Malacca call sumangat and the Bataks
of Sumatra tondi (or tendi). These terms do not signify any
“ power ’’ in a non-animistic sense, but simply the body-soul
or “soul-stuff”. This is seen from the fact that, according to
the belief of these natives, sumangat and tendi inhabits such
parts of the body as the pulse, the intestines, the blood, the
umbilical cord, the placenta, the hair, the nails, the saliva, the
toes, and so forth. [6]

The free-soul, however, is the form which plays the most
important role in the psychology of the lower peoples, and it is
the one particularly named. In most cases it seems to be
identified either with the breath or with the shadow, as is
testified by language. Ethnology and the history of religion
tell of numerous peoples who used the same word for “ breath ”
and for “ soul ”. As instances may be mentioned peoples as
widely separated in time and space as the primitive Australians
and the Ainu of Japan on the one hand, the ancient Hebrews
and different Aryan peoples of Europe and India on the other.

As to the Hebrews, their primitive idea of the soul was de-
noted by the words nephesh and nesJidmahy whereas ruah signified
a higher conception. The nephesh does not, as is erroneously
assumed by Tylor and others, mean “breath”: by it the
Hebrews denoted a soul which according to their idea was
present in the blood. Originally niphesh was thought to be
identical with the blood ; it was therefore a typical “ body-soul ”,
intimately connected with the bodily organism. As long as
niphesh existed in the body it had life; death was the conse-
quence of the blood-soul leaving the body. Like many other
peoples, the Hebrews had observed that life fades away with the
blood streaming from the wound. So conceived, the niphesh
seems on the whole so intimately connected with the body

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

54

itself that we may question whether this principle of life could
exist at all as a free-soul in the same sense, for instance, as the
psyche of the Greeks. After death nephesh continued to be
attached to its bodily frame, following the corpse to the grave.
But, in the Old Testament, there appears also another and more
advanced conception of nephesh^ according to which it is not
identical with but has its seat in the blood. This notion implies
that, later, the Hebrews thought of it as a thing which could
detach itself from the body and, at least in a relative sense, lead
an independent existence. The word neshdmah, on the other
hand, means “ breath particularly when breathed out through
the nose. Consequently it w^as the true “ free-soul ” of the
Hebrews, and more or less an equivalent to the Greek psyche, [7]

Psyche seems to be an onomatopoietic word and shows that
the soul was conceived by the Greeks in the first place as a
breath of air, a thin vapour or film, or a smoke. It was the
psyche that was breathed out in the last breath of a dying
person. [8] The same may be said of the Sanskrit words atman
(cf. the German Atem, “ breath ”) and prdna, and the Latin
animiiSy anima, spiritus.

Closely connected with the idea of the soul as a breath is the
idea of the shadow-soul. As an aerial being the psyche was
sometimes compared by the Greeks with a shadow {skia)\ or,
it formed a shadow-like image {eidolon) of the body to which it
once belonged. When the modern savage sees his image re-
flected on the ground or on the smooth surface of the water, he
believes he sees in that image his second-self, his soul. If
another person treads on his shadow he treads on his soul,
which is regarded by many peoples as a dreadful form of
tactlessness.

It is also a well-known fact that many peoples denote the
soul by a word meaning, at the same time, shadow. Not only
do the Zulus use the word tunzi for ** shadow, spirit, ghost
but they consider that at death the shadow of a man will in some
way or another depart from the corpse, to become an ancestral
spirit. [9] The Algonquin Indians describe a man’s soul as
otahchuk^ “ his shadow The Arawak word ueja means
“ shadow, soul, image [10] The word which the Toba Indians
use for “ soul ”, kadepakdl, also means ” shadow ”, and the same
holds true of the Jibaro word wakdni. But the wakdni is also
attached to the hair and the head, the nails, the blood, the liver.

PRIMITIVE CONCEPTION OF THE SOUL 55

etc., and consequently signifies the “ body-soul as well as the
“ free-soul Since, to the savage, the soul is identical with any
image or likeness of him, primitive peoples generally show a
great aversion to being photographed. I found this particular
superstition among all the South American tribes I visited.
Thus, both the Jibaros and the different Chaco tribes strongly
objected at first to being photographed on the ground that “ I
was taking their souls ** with my camera, with the probable
consequence that they would soon die. The photographs were
called wakdni by the Jibaros, and to them their possession
meant the possession of full power over the person it repre-
sented. [ii]

Further, the name-soul is closely connected with the shadow-
soul. According to primitive belief the name does not form an
accidental appendage to a person, but is a real expression of his
essence; in a person’s name his soul is inherent. Hence the
mysterious ceremonies with which name-giving is usually
connected in the lower culture and the reluctance savage
peoples often display against revealing their true names. [12]
The danger is as great as being photographed : by revealing his
true name the person in question puts himself completely in the
power of the unknown stranger and exposes his soul to mysteri-
ous dangers.

The ideas about the soul, touched upon above, are found
among most lower peoples, although there are, of course, in-
dividual differences, depending primarily on the different stages
of culture they represent. Some ethnologists have been able
to distinguish, in the psychology of certain higher uncultured
peoples, still further conceptions of the soul. Miss Mary
Kingsley, for example, found among the Congo negroes a
distinction between four kinds of soul: (i) the soul which sur-
vives after death ; (2) the soul which has taken up its abode in
an animal of the wood ; (3) the shadow-soul ; and (4) the soul
which appears in dreams and roams about. [13] We may
question, however, whether here we have not less to do with
different kinds of soul than with different forms under which
one and the same soul acts.

The ideas about the soul held by the ancient Egyptians were
likewise very complicated. The best known was dbe form of
soul called kUy a kind of “ double ”, a material second-self in
addition to the body, although more ethereal than the latter,

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

56

and which during life-time resided in the body or its immediate
neighbourhood, and after death stayed in the grave. The
sepulchral statuettes in the graves of the Pharaohs seem to be
likenesses of their ka. The ka was also conceived as a tutelary
genius which was bom with man, followed him in an invisible
shape during his life-time and took care of him even after death.
From this point of view the Egyptian ka may be compared with
the ancient Scandinavian hamingja or fylgja, the personal tute-
lary or attending genius, in which case its connection with the
soul proper is uncertain. The Egyptian ba was more like what
we call the free-soul. This was generally represented as a bird
with a human head and human hands. As we know, the
“ soul-bird ” is a common phenomenon in the mythology of
the lower peoples. Furthermore, the Egyptians were familiar
with a form of soul called ab^ the heart, regarded as the source
of life and the seat of vital power. Its continued existence in the
dead body was a necessary condition for the body’s resurrection.
By means of heart-shaped amulettes, placed on the mummy,
the Egyptians tried to prevent this “ body-soul ” from separat-
ing from the body. The Egyptians also believed in a particular
shadow-soul, called khaibit^ as well as a name-soul which they
called ran or ren. Extraordinary measures were taken to
prevent the extinction of the raw, and in the pyramidal texts we
find prayers of the deceased that their ran might live and
flourish at the side of the names of the gods. [14]

In the animistic beliefs of the Finno-Ugrian peoples we find
clear traces both of a “ body-soul ” and of a “ free-soul ”.
The former is attached indissolubly to the body, or to a partic-
ular organ, and seems in fact to be a quality of the body itself.
The heart, the liver, and the intestines appear to have been the
organs regarded as the chief seat of this soul. This primitive
conception exists most clearly among the Siberian Ostyaks and
Vogules. In the Vogule myths the heroes eat the heart and
liver of their slain enemies so as to absorb the power seated in
those parts of the body. But already in early times the Finno-
Ugrian peoples also had the idea of a kind of free-soul which
seems sometimes to have been identified with the breath, but
more often with the shadow. The breath gives the body life and
maintains its functions. When man dies, it leaves the body
through the mouth and the nostrils, but its subsequent fate is
unknown. The idea of a breath-soul, however, occurs only

PRIMITIVE CONCEPTION OF THE SOUL 57

among the Wotyaks and the Syrjanes, who call it ltd and lol
respectively. On the whole it plays an insignificant part among
the Finno-Ugrian peoples.

This is not so with the “ free-soul ’’ in the proper sense of
the word, or the shadow-soul, which is given a special name by
peoples of this race. Among the Tsheremisses, for instance,
as I said before, it is called 6 rt, During a man’s life-time this soul
is the faithful companion of the body, but for various reasons
may separate from it temporarily. This happens, for instance,
in the dreams during sleep, and when the person gets frightened.
Even when the person dies, no essential change takes place in
the relation of the soul to the body. The former continues to
stand in intimate relation to the latter, following the body to the
grave where both find a new home. [15]

From the above survey on the idea of the soul held by various
primitive peoples, it would certainly appear that there exist
both individual differences and a general agreement. We are
entitled to make a rough distinction evidendy between the
body-soul and a free-soul, although it is difficult to say
whether, to the savage animist, this distinction is really as clear
as it is '. to us, or even whether for him it exists at all. The
question now arises as to how this primitive theory of the soul
originated.

On the whole, I think Tylor’s explanation still goes to the
root of the matter. According to him, two main groups of
phenomena have given rise to die idea of a soul, namely, the
difference between a living body and a dead one, and, closely
connected with this problem, the nature of the human shapes
which appear in dreams and visions. From the beginning, the
biological phenomena connected with life and death must have
deeply impressed primeval man, just as they still impress the
modem savage. To the savage the greatest of all problems is
undoubtedly the problem of death. Even the higher animals
display wonder and awe in front of a fallen comrade. Man’s
more developed intellect must have driven him from the first to
form a theory concerning the fearful and mysterious change
which takes place with the body in death. The cessation of the
breath, of the beats of the heart and the pulse, and of other
functions of life, must from the beginning have led thinking
men to the conclusion that the living body is inhabited by an
invisible being which leaves it in the moment of death. The

58 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

most primitive Indians of South America, for example, explain
the phenomenon of death in this way.

In any case, the idea that man ceases to exist entirely when
life leaves his body does not occur to a primitive mind. Just as
the savage cannot conceive of a creation out of nothing, so he
cannot grasp the idea that something actually existing could
ever pass away into nothingness. The mysterious being must
have left the body in the last breath of the dying person ; hence
the common idea of the soul which identifies it with the breath.

Moreover, when the idea of a soul first arose, all sorts of
associations of ideas must have been at work. The soul, which
in a visible or invisible shape is believed to stay somewhere in
the neighbourhood of its former bodily frame, is further identi-
fied with the shadow or with the phantoms appearing to the
savage in dreams ; or, it is thought to have found a new abode
in some animal being — an insect, a bird, a reptile, a quadruped —
which at the time when death took place was seen in the neigh-
bourhood of the dead body or the house of death. Such souls
in animal shape play an important part in the lower cultures.

That dreams have been an important factor in helping to
form the primitive idea of a human soul is beyond doubt, even
though their importance is not as great perhaps as has often been
assumed. However, it is a fact confirmed by records from
different parts of the world that most lower peoples firmly
“ believe in dreams that is, believe that the experiences they
have during their dreams are as real as the waking ones.
Among some of the Indian tribes I visited, notably the Jibaros,
I was strongly impressed by their firm conviction of the reality
of the experiences they had during sleep. Not only do they
believe that they see the souls of their friends or enemies in
the normal dreams; but when these dreams are artificially
produced by certain narcotic drinks they meet the souls {wakani),
which tell them the absolute truth about present and future
events. In sleep the soul is temporarily detached from the
body; it sees other souls and experiences many wonderful
things. [i6] By the same theory the savage explains many
abnormal states of the body and the mind, such as swooning
and so on.

Curious it is, on the other hand, to find that although accord-
ing to primitive belief the soul is thought to have separated from
the body and even to have taken up its abode in some other

PRIMITIVE CONCEPTION OF THE SOUL 59

material body, there is still something of it left in the body to
which it originally belonged. To a primitive mind it is difficult,
even impossible, to think of the dead body as entirely lifeless
matter. In other words, it seems as if some sort of connection
were still thought to exist between the body-soul and the free-
soul. This persistent idea of connecting the body with some-
thing of its former life is seen in many of the burial rites of
lower peoples, and also from their methods of preparing the
dead body.

The soul’s existence after its separation from the body and
the possibility of its assuming, some time in the future, a new
human form, an idea prevalent among many peoples, depends
on the degree of integrity with which the dead body is pre-
served. Hence, for instance, the care with which the ancient
Egyptians embalmed the corpses of the dead. The mummified
body, they were convinced, conserved that part of the body
which corresponded to the vital power, and so the whole soul
was preserved. But the Egj’^ptians were by no means the only
people who tried for this reason to preserve the dead body from
destruction. Since it is often difficult, however, to conserve the
body in its entirety, other peoples have been satisfied with
taking care of the bones, the soft parts of the body having at
first been allowed to moulder or been intentionally removed.

Burial customs of this kind prevailed, for instance, among
certain tribes in South America. The Bororo in Brazil exhume
the body after the lapse of some time, strip it of its remaining
fleshy parts, and take the skeleton asunder. The bones are
painted red, carefully arranged in a basket, and finally buried
with certain ceremonies. Customs of this kind are due to the
belief that a part of the soul of the deceased remains in his bones.
If these are carefully conserved, the deceased may some time in
the future return by a new birth to a new earthly existence.
The custom among many lower peoples of burning the corpse
is based on the same idea. In that case the ashes of the burnt
body sustain the spiritual part of man, and survive after
death. [17]

In their way all these customs illustrate the ideas about the
relation of soul and body which once prevailed and still pre-
vail not only among primitive peoples but among those of
higher culture.

As to the “ free-soul ” which after death is believed to leave

6o

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

the body and lead a more or less independent existence, a few
words may be added. This soul is by no means always identi-
cal with that mysterious spiritual being dealt with by the savage
in his often very complicated burial and mourning customs.
In many cases, the main object of these is to protect the sur-
vivors against the malevolent disease- and death-demon who
has carried off one member of the community and is believed
to be looking for fresh victims among the surviving relatives.
This “ death-spirit ” has often been confounded by students
of religion with the soul of the deceased, with whom in fact it
always tries to identify itself. Later I shall analyse the ideas
held by lower peoples about these various spiritual beings.
We will then find an opportunity to establish the remarkable
change which death is believed to bring about in the character
of the dead.

The ideas of the soul thus developed will, as we shall soon
find, become extraordinarily important for the further evolution
of religion, and above all for that form of religion called the
worship of nature. It will be apparent that those mysterious
spiritual beings whom primitive peoples believe inhabit even
inanimate nature are, in great measure, nothing more than the
souls of departed persons also peopling that invisible world of
spirits and demons who interfere in the welfare and destiny of
man. Our first task, however, is to examine the connection
existing between the idea of the soul and what is generally
called magic.

CHAPTER IV

THE SOUL AND MAGICAL “ POWER

W HAT we call “ magic ” comprises on the one hand a
belief in supernatural powers, unseen although usually
more or less materially conceived, on the other a certain tech-
nique for the use of such powers, and the ability to control, with
their aid, both men and supernatural beings. In the latter case,
magic forms part of practical religion and will be examined later
in connection with religious cult. At present we are concerned
only with the supernatural powers themselves, their essence
and origin.

Keeping in mind the facts mentioned in the last chapter,
it is not surprising to learn that one potent source of magic is
the vital power of the human body itself. The power exists in
the body both during the man’s life-time and after his death, and
seems above all to be identical with energy proceeding from
what we have called the “ body-soul ”. When it is said of this
supernatural power or influence, called by the Melanesians mana
and by the Iroquois orenda, that even a living man may possess
it, we must take this statement to mean that particular power of
the soul which some people possess by nature and which can
be enhanced by artificial means. This appears from the fact
that, among both peoples, it is the medicine-man or sorcerer
in particular who is believed to possess the mysterious power.
Later, we shall examine the peculiar theory that uncivilized
peoples hold about the ability of such persons to harm their
fellow-creatures by witchcraft or, on the contrary, to cure
people from this evil. One shall then see that this ability is due
to the extraordinary spiritual power they are believed to possess
and through which they can master the spirits and demons.

The deification of men, as far as we can speak of it in the lower
cultures, is, therefore, intimately connected with the idea of
the soul and the power or influence proceeding from it. If a
mortal man reaches the rank of a divinity even in his lifetime,
this can be due only to the fact that he is believed to possess a

6i

62

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

“ stronger soul ”, a stronger mana or orenda than other people.
For this reason, the medicine-man and sorcerer, in possession
of an art which, to the uninitiated, appears miraculous and
supernatural, is generally, among primitive peoples, the object
of a reverence which in some cases may develop into religious
worship. The real gods in Samoa, says an English missionar}%
are the medicine-men. It is curious to see how these men are
feared, and how strong is the belief in their power over life and
death. At one time in the Fijian Islands there was no difference
between man and god, because many priests and old chiefs were
regarded as sacred and even claimed to be divine beings. It
would be easy to adduce statements to the same effect about
medicine-men from other parts of the world, [i]

The question is, however, whether the difference between
man and god in regard to the medicine-men and the sorcerers
is really so insignificant as J. G. Frazer, for instance, has said.
The fact that a magician is thought to be endowed with super-
natural powers does not mean, as a rule, that even in his life-
time he is regarded as a supernatural being, and still less as the
object of any real cult. Generally not until after his death does
he attain this rank, because of the survivors’ fear of his spirit,
the power of which is looked upon as being greater after
death. The real “ man-god ” is a person in whom a divine
spirit is believed to have taken up its abode, he is a being who
belongs essentially to the polytheistic stage in the history of
religion.

Just as every man possesses a “ body-soul ”, so he also more
or less possesses that magical powder, mana or orenda^ w hich has
its seat in this soul. The power exists in a far lesser degree in
women and children than in grown-up people and men, and the
body of the professional magician is specially charged with it.
The question as to which part of the human body is the partic-
ular seat of the spiritual power can scarcely be answered exactly.
The vital power pervades the whole body, providing life and
activity, but primitive people generally assign various parts
where it is thought to be particularly concentrated, such as
the head, especially the hair, the heart, the liver, the diaphragm,
the nails, the blood, and the saliva. Conceived as a vital power
in this way, the psychical energy is naturally, in the first place,
impersonal, but, occasionally, too, it is conceived as a personal
spirit identical apparently w'ith the “ free-soul ”. A countless

THE SOUL AND MAGICAL “ POWER ” 63

number of magical customs, in vogue among the lower peoples
throughout the world, are intimately connected with these
ideas.

When the Dyaks of Borneo gain a victory over their enemies
they are not satisfied with killing them, but also cut off their
heads and take them home. Here they dry them in the air and
hang them up at the ceilings of their huts. The heads are
believed to possess a mysterious power which the victors can
use for their own ends. [2]

“ Head-hunting,” says the Swedish explorer E. Mjoberg, “ is
an absolutely indispensable condition for good and suitable
weather, for promoting the growth and fertility of the fields, for
effecting that the forests may abound in game, that the dogs may
be able to hunt effectively, that the rivers may abound in fish,
that the peoples may be sound and vigorous, and the matri-
monies prolific.” The same explorer states expressly that these
wonderful effects are due to the belief that the soul still remains
in the head [3], a statement confirmed by the Dutch missionary
Wameck when he mentions that head-hunting is connected
with the belief that the “ soul-stuff ” exists in the severed head.
The same custom prevails among certain savage tribes in South
America, such as the Mundrucus in Brazil and the Jibaros in
Eastern Ecuador.

My statement about the supernatural effects ascribed to the
head-trophy of the Dyaks applies almost word for word with
the Jibaros also. The ideas of this savage people have been
analysed in detail in my recent work The Head-Hunters of
Western Amazonas, 1935. Through the many complicated
ceremonies performed with it, the head of the enemy is trans-
formed into a real fetish, an object charged with mysterious
power or, as we may say, mana. How intimately this fetish
worship is associated with animism appears from the fact that
the Jibaro Indian, when he has obtained a human head, says
that he has “ taken a soul ” {wakdm). The spiritual power is
centred particularly in the hair, prepared with great care, but both
the name wakdni given the fetish and several details at the great
victory feast show clearly that this power is generally personified.
The revengeful spirit of the slain enemy lies specially in the
hair and the head of the trophy, but is at the same time thought
of as a personal being who follows the victor everywhere trying
to harm him. [4] I might add that the custom of scalping

64 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

among the North American Indians was formerly connected
with die same ideas.

Apart from these barbaric war customs, there are a great many
magical customs among primitive peoples in which the hair and
nails play an important part. To possess a lock of a person’s
hair or a piece of his nail implies complete power over him,
because the owner has acquired power over his sotd which is
situated in these parts of his body. In these cases the myster-
ious effect follows according to the principle of pars pro toto,
“ the part stands for the whole This kind of magic has been
called “ contagious magic ”, a name with little point in it.
On close analysis, the effect does not appear to be due to the
” contact ” as such, but to the fact that in the lock or the nail
of the person in question his soul or vital power has its centre.

If, again, one asks how it is that primitive peoples usually
regard the hair and the nails — as also the skin and claws of
animals — as the seat of the soul, we can only answer that certain
facts seem to point in this direction. The hair, as too the nails
and the claws, grow rapidly all through life ; even when cut short
they grow again and soon attain their former size. It is natural,
therefore, for the savage to infer that the vital power which
animates the living body and causes its growth has more actuality
in these parts, and that the vitality of the human and the animal
body flows towards its extremities and is concentrated in them.
The power of the hair to collect electricity has probably also
helped to inspire such a belief.

TTie heart, too, is commonly regarded as the seat of the soul
or the vital power. According to a statement by Rochefort, the
Caribs of the Antilles assume a particular soul for each pulse
they can feel or which is seen to move under the skin. The
natives of the Tonga Islands believe that the soul extends to
all parts of the human body, but is seated primarily in the heart.
This belief is also reflected in the custom of the ancient Mexicans
who, at the human sacrifices, used to take out the heart and
stretch it towards the statue of the god. These sacrifices were
magical in character : the vital power or soul was believed to be
concentrated in the heart, and was transmitted to the god with
a view to augmenting his own power. The belief that the soul is
seated in the heart is also shown in the practice of cannibalism. By
eating the heart or the liver of an enemy, power is acquired over
him ; the eater is believed to appropriate his courage and other

THE SOUL AND MAGICAL “ POWER ’’ 65

spiritual properties. War customs of this kind have appeared
among primitive peoples as widely separated as the Australian
aborigines, the Indians of South America, and certain Finno-
Ugrian peoples.

Equally common is the idea that the vital power is identical
with, or concentrated in the blood, an idea due apparently to
the observation that life fades away with the blood. The belief
of the Hebrews, that both the soul {niphesh) and the principle of
life is in the blood, was evidently shared by most lower peoples
and gave rise to numerous taboo restrictions. The blood taints
and causes impurity because a dangerous, often revengeful spirit
or demon is contained in it, but, for this very reason, it also
contains much power. By smearing his face and his body with
the blood of certain animals, the savage thinks he wdll transfer
magical power to his body.

The ancient Peruvians and certain other barbaric peoples used
to sprinkle their fields with the blood of sacrificed men, believing
that thus would they promote fertility : the plant spirits on which
fertility depends are thought in this way to be given more power
to produce fruits. [5] And lastly, just as many people believe
that it is possible to control a person through a lock of his hair
or a piece of his nail, so they think that magical influence can
be exerted upon a person through a drop of his blood.

The same holds true of the saliva which contains mana like
the blood. A sorcerer who obtains some of another man’s saliva
acquires at the same time power over his life and death. This is
another superstitious belief common apparently to all lower
peoples. The saliva of a sacred man, or a man filled with magical
power, is thought to have the highest beneficial effects. Hence
the method observed by sorcerers all over the world in curing
disease, namely, that of blowing and spitting repeatedly on the
spot which is the seat of the evil. Not only in his saliva, but also
in his breath and in his voice, when he leans over the patient
reciting his conjurations, is there something of the mysterious
spiritual power which enables him to constrain the disease-
demon. The belief in the beneficial effects of the saliva finds
expression, moreover, in some peculiar acts of etiquette. An
English consul tells of a negro chief in Sudan that, when he
was received by him, the chief grasped his hand and turning up
the palm spat upon it, then looking into his face did the same.
The consul was staggered by the man’s audacity, but noting
E

66

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

that his features expressed kindness only, he returned the com-
pliment with interest, much to the chiefs delight. [6]

The instances mentioned may be enough to illustrate the
connection bet\^^een the soul and the bodily organs and the
functions of life. According to primitive belief all these organs
contain mana or magical power, and the more they have, the
more powerful a soul the person in question is believed to
possess.

The mysterious power does not exist merely in the living body
but also in a dead one, Codrington’s statement that in Melan-
esia the bone of a corpse possesses mana because the soul is
embodied in it, is confirmed in the ideas of many other primitive
peoples. It may be appropriate to call to mind the fact that the
worship of relics, which flourished in Christianity and in many
other higher religions, was due to the same animistic ideas. The
more “ power ” (holiness) a person had in life, the more power
his relics would have after his death. That kind of magic which
refers to the dead body, however, is more of a negative than a
positive nature ; it is generally a dangerous power. This leads us
to the second of the two central concepts of primitive magic, the
conception of taboo.

Tabu (tapu) is a Polynesian word, but, like the Melanesian
maruiy it has long been adopted as a general term in the history
of religion. It is difficult, however, to define this term exactly,
because nowadays it is used to denote several quite heteroge-
neous phenomena. Priests, chiefs, and kings may be taboo, in
which case common people are forbidden to come into contact
with them. Certain parts of the body, especially the head, the
hair, and the blood may be taboo and cannot be touched.
Persons are taboo on particular occasions ; warriors, for instance,
after the slaying of an enemy, a hunter after he has killed the
game, the relatives of a recently dead person, women during
menstruation and child-birth. Certain kinds of food and drink
may be taboo. The dead are taboo and their names cannot be
mentioned. It is frequently the same with the names of the gods.
Property can be tabooed and in that way protected. Certain
sacred places and buildings, especially temples, are taboo ; objects
of religious cult are taboo, [7] etc. It is in Pol5rnesia, naturally,
that we meet with the notion of taboo in its most typical form,
but being an extremely ancient religious notion, its origin is
obscure. In Polynesia, persons, things, and conditions could

THE SOUL AND MAGICAL “ POWER ” 67

formerly be under a taboo; there were general taboos and
private taboos ; the taboo could be permanent or only occasional.
Severe punishment, even capital punishment, threatened those
who broke the rules of taboo. But the effect of a breach of taboo
was generally purely mechanical: the offender ran the risk of
immediately falling ill and dying. A Maori who had consumed
the remains of a chief’s food without knowing it, fell ill as soon
as he realized what he had done and died a few hours later.

It is unnecessary to point out that the conception of taboo,
with the extensive application it had formerly in Polynesia, has
been of enormous religious and social inportance.

It has been customary in the modern science of religion to
distinguish between the conceptions of tnana and taboo by saying
that they denote the negative and positive aspects respectively
of one and the same thing. As the term tabu has been used in
Polynesia, and as it is generally used in the modern science of
religion, it implies above all a prohibition, signifying a dangerous
or harmful power or influence. When a person or thing is taboo,
this means that they are pervaded by a mysterious quality,
holiness, magical virtue, or whatever we like to call it, which
makes any contact with them dangerous. Among the Poly-
nesians, with their comparatively highly developed religion, taboo
had a close relationship with the divine : everything was taboo
that was connected with the gods and with cult. At higher
stages of religious evolution, the dangerous influence of taboo
often appears as a purely impersonal power acting mechanically,
as something like the electric energy. As an illustration of this
power a typical instance may be taken from the Old Testament.
During the reign of David, the sacred Ark of the Covenant had
to be moved from Baal in Judah to Jerusalem. The oxen which
drew the cart became ungovernable. One of the men seized the
Ark, pervaded with holiness, to prevent it from falling, and in
consequence, he died on the spot. [8] In the lower religions, on
the other hand, this dangerous influence is usually personified:
it appears as a harmful or impure demon. As with mana^
taboo, in its most typical form at least, has an animistic origin.

Death and disease seem to be the chief sources of taboo. A
sick person is taboo because a dangerous and “ impure ” disease-
demon has penetrated into the body. All persons and things
therefore, which come into intimate contact with the patient,
likewise become impure and taboo. Thus among many tribes

68 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

of South America I found the idea that when one member of the
family is sick, the nearest relatives living in the same house are
under a taboo. Even the food in the house is tabooed, the
relatives of the patient being obliged to observe certain strict
rules in regard to their diet. [9] Above all else, however, a
corpse is regarded as taboo and believed to defile all who come
into contact with it.

Looking at the matter from a civilized point of view, one would
be inclined to say that it is death or the contagion of death that
primitive peoples fear. On closer examination, we find that
in most cases, if not always, this contagion of death is personified,
conceived, that is, as a demoniacal being. Among the South
American Indians, for example, all burial rites and purificatory
ceremonies after death are obviously directed against a personal
cause, the malevolent spiritual being who carried off one member
of the community and is believed to be looking for fresh victims
among the survivors. In the Gran Chaco the house of death
and the whole village is generally purified by fire. Even the
property of the deceased and especially his clothes and other
things with which he had been in contact, are destroyed by fire.
If many deaths have taken place through an epidemic, the whole
village is burnt. In other cases it is purified by fire-brands.
These are brandished round in all directions on the evening of
the day when death took place, loud shouts being given from
time to time to chase away the demons. [10] Numerous in-
stances of the same kind could be quoted from other parts of
South America [ii] which seem to show clearly that the taboo
of death has an animistic origin, or else arises from the fear of
evil or harmful spiritual beings.

The same hol^ true in regard to other uncivilized peoples.
Among the Finns, the taboo of death or the baneful influence
proceeding from a corpse, was called kalma. It was supposed
to originate from the spirits of the dead, called keijukaiset^ who
were believed to appear wherever a person was breathing his
last or where there was a corpse. With the word kalma the
Finns denoted in the first place the peculiar smell which was
believed to follow these spirits, and also the harmful power or
influence which had its seat in the dead body. Since this power
had a personal cause, they also spoke of the ‘‘ kalma-peoph ”
{kalmanvdkt), meaning the spirits of the dead. The sorcerer
could secure possession of this mysterious “ power ’’ by digging

THE SOUL AND MAGICAL “ POWER ” 69

in the burial-place and procuring a little mould from a grave.
The notion of kalma in primitive Finnish religion is therefore
closely related to the notion of vdkiy treated before. [12]

Again, the Malagasy, according to the Swedish explorer Dr.
Kaudern, use the word faddy^ which means that something
“ cannot be done Dr. Kaudern adds, however, that if, by the
Polynesian tabUy we understand a wholly impersonal power ex-
isting in a thing or an act, the faddy of the Malagasy does not
quite correspond to it, for in all the cases he was able to analyse,
the faddy had a personal cause.

To a Malagasy, something is always faddy because the person
breaking the prohibition exposes himself to the revenge of a
supernatural being who feels offended. In most cases this being
seems to be the spirit {lolo) of a deceased person. Two instances
may be mentioned to illustrate the idea of the Malagasy. At
the River Andranolava there was a place where it was faddy to
pass the river in a canoe. Whoever wished to pass to the
opposite side had to wade or make a detour ; if he passed it in a
canoe some misfortune would happen to him. An Englishman
who dared to defy the prohibition and passed the river in a canoe,
shortly afterwards fell seriously ill with malaria. This fact, of
course, strengthened the natives in their belief that the place was
taboo. On inquiry Dr. Kaudern learnt that a native had once
been drowned at this place when he tried to pass the river in
a canoe ; his spirit {lolo) had taken up its abode in the water and
would have nothing to do with canoes. [13]

At Batsiboka, another river in Madagascar, a rule existed that
if a native passed the river he had to take off his hat, if any, and
put it down on the bottom of the canoe in such a way that it
could not be seen; it was faddy for him to show a hat. Again
the reason seemed to be that at that place a mighty Sakalo had
been drowned, who disliked the wearing of hats. His lolo in-
habited the river and would not allow anybody in a hat to pass
unpunished.

Among the Malagasy there exist taboos which have to be
observed by all members of the community and others which
have to be observed only by individuals or families. These are
often food taboos. They likewise have a personal cause. A
native, for instance, may dislike the meat of fowls or the meat
of an ox. He expects his dislike to these foods to be shared by
his descendants, to whom consequently the meat of fowls and

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

70

beef is faddy. The taboo, therefore, is hereditary. The reason of
the prohibition may be completely forgotten in the course of time,
but the rule is still strictly observed because, according to native
belief, some misfortune will happen to the transgressor. [14]

This taboo notion of the Malagasy probably holds true of
most primitive and barbaric peoples. Nothing is more natural
than that the original reason for the taboo should gradually be
forgotten by the peoples observing the rules of prohibition.
This is specially true of peoples standing somewhat higher in
culture: the ancient Hebrews, for example. What has been
said of mana applies also to taboo : its connection with animism
is usually apparent at primitive stages, whereas, at more advanced
stages of culture, the animistic foundation is lost, and taboo
appears simply as a dangerous supernatural power or energy.

Closely connected with the taboo of death is the taboo attached
to certain magical instruments used at the mystery ceremonies
and other things used in connection with a religious cult. It
is a well-known fact, for instance, that masks, flutes, and bull-
roarers play an important part in primitive religion and that,
among many peoples, these mysterious instruments are taboo
to the highest degree. Thus the masks and magical ornaments
used formerly by the Indians in North-western America at
their totem ceremonies, and to this day by some South
American Indians at their death-feasts and mask-dances, are
taboo afterwards to women and children because, during the
magical ceremonies and conjurations, they have been in
contact with the death-spirits. [15] By virtue of the con-
jurations these demons have been compelled to enter into
the magical instruments. These have thus been charged
with a power extremely dangerous to all uninitiated persons.
In this, as in many other cases, the savage does not make a
strict distinction between the personal and the impersonal;
both ideas are blended together queerly.

In the case of the bull-roarers used both by the Bororo
Indians in Central Brazil and the tribes of Central Australia
we find a remarkable coincidence in regard to a magical rite
between savage peoples who cannot possibly have been in
any cultural contact with one another. The Australian
aborigines call these sacred mystery instruments churinga.
They are made of stone or wood and some are the exact
equivalent of the bull-roarers of the Bororo. There can be

THE SOUL AND MAGICAL ‘‘ POWER ”

71

no doubt as to the nature of the dangerous taboo attaching to
the Indian bull-roarers. In some South American tribes they
have degenerated into mere playthings for the children, but
among the Borord they have retained their original character.
While hurled round at the death-feasts they are believed to
catch the spirits of the dead; the very booming or whistling
sound they produce is supposed to be an imitation of the
sounds of the spirits. [16]

It is equally clear that the churinga of the Central Australians
have a similar animistic origin. Our knowledge of these
sacred instruments is based on the information given by the
English ethnologists Spencer and Gillen and the German
missionary Strehlow. Each of these mysterious objects, one
is expressly told, is intimately associated with the spirit part
of some individual man or woman. The spirits, that is, the
disembodied spirits of departed ancestors, reside at certain
spots, having taken up their abode in remote times in some
natural object, tree or rock. The spirits will be reborn again
in their descendants by entering into a woman who happens
to pass these places. The natives think that when a spirit-
child enters a woman to be born, he drops his sacred stone,
the churinga. When the husband of the woman finds the
churinga which in a given case is supposed to be associated
with a spirit-child, that churinga is called churinga nani, “ the
abode of the spirit ”, and becomes the object of a certain cult.
The churinga are connected with the totems and figure promi-
nently in the sacred totemic ceremonies which none but
initiated men may witness. To uninitiated persons they are
taboo to such an extent, that they cannot be seen by women
and uninitiated men under pain of death or very severe punish-
ment, such as blinding with a fire-stick. [17] In Strehlow’s
account, the close connection between the churinga and the
animistic ideas of the Central Australians is made very clear
according to him. The sacred instrument is regarded as the
common body of the man and his totem ancestor. It connects
the individual with his personal totem ancestor and guarantees
him the protection of his tutelary spirit {inir^ucua). [18]

In the face of these facts I cannot understand how Soderblom,
for instance, who in his above-mentioned work has paid much
attention to the Australian churinga^ arrived at the conclusion
that the churinga had nothing to do with a soul or spirit but

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

72

refers to a “ pre-animistic ” stage of religious thought. [19]
The Australian idea that the totem ancestor’s soul is in the
sacred instrument is set forth with unmistakable evidence
both in Spencer and Gillen’s and in Stehlow’s account.
Soderblom’s view is all the more surprising when one re-
members that a few years earlier (1906) he had, in an article
on the primitive mystery ceremonies published in the Ymer, [20]
emphasized rightly the obvious connection between the churinga
and the animism of the Australian aborigines. The contradiction
must be evidently explained from the fact that in his work
on primitive religion of 1912, Soderblom has been influenced
by the pre-animistic theory and had been induced accordingly
to alter his earlier correct view on the subject.

There can be little doubt that from time immemorial the
Australian blacks have been in the habit, at their great mystery
feasts, of exorcizing the spirits of ancestors with their churinga,
just as some Brazilian tribes exorcize the spirits of the dead
at their death-feasts. The taboo of death, that is, the spirit
of the deceased, is attached afterwards to the sacred instru-
ment; hence the danger of any uninitiated person coming
into contact with it. According to the belief of the Indians
the woman who happens, even accidentally, to see the tabooed
instrument, will assuredly be seized by the death-demon; she
will afteii^^ards die and be changed into an evil demon herself
and become a danger to other people. Because of the breach
of taboo of which she is guilty, such a woman is killed. The
fact that she has done so unwittingly does not alter matters,
because the taboo acts mechanically. [21]

It is the same among the Central Australians. Strehlow
relates that if somebody happens to show the churinga to a
woman, both are killed. Similarly a woman who accidentally
comes upon a churinga is killed. [22] Neither in Australia
nor in South America can such customs be explained merely
as acts of cruelty or a desire on the part of the men to keep
the women in a state of barbarous subjection; they are
natural consequences of their ideas of taboo or superstitions ”,
if one likes to call them that.

Soderblom’s opinion that “ it is hopeless to try to bring
these churinga under any current category ”, [23] seems there-
fore to be erroneous. On the contrary, we are dealing here
with a most characteristic category of ” sacred ” mystery

THE SOUL AND MAGICAL “ POWER ” 73

instruments, met with in different parts of the world and which,
in their way, illustrate the connection of the power or influence
called taboo with purely animistic ideas.

In his The Golden Boughj J. G. Frazer draws the well-known
distinction between what he calls homoeopathic or imitative
magic based on the principle of imitation, and contagious
magic based on the principle of contact. A typical instance
of the first kind of magic is that of images. The savage believes,
for instance, that he can harm an enemy by making an image
of him and piercing it with arrows or destroying it. Every-
thing, he reasons, that happens to the likeness will also happen
to the original. Again, we have contagious magic when the
savage believes he can influence a person through a lock of
his hair or a piece of his nail. Both kinds of magic Frazer
calls sympathetic magic, and both, according to his theory,
are ultimately dependent upon an erroneous association of
ideas. On the one hand, the savage believes that things which
resemble each other are identical, on the other, that things
which have once been in contact with each other, continue to
be so even after separation.

To a scientist who is trying to bring system into that
apparently often contradictory chaos of ideas presented to
him in the savage world of thought, a theory like this may
have its value as a working hypothesis, but primitive peoples
themselves certainly do not look at matters in this way. They
do not make that distinction betw’een different kinds of influence
represented, on the one hand, for instance, by the magic of
images, and on the other, by contagious magic. In both
cases, of course, from our point of view, an erroneous associa-
tion of ideas is working. But this association of ideas does not
by itself explain the mysterious connection which magic
assumes between the image and its original or between the
part and the whole. When the savage makes an image of his
enemy with which to harm him, he believes that in the image
he has caught the enemy’s soul. By invisible but to him
quite real ties the image is connected with the person it repre-
sents, and the possibility of influencing the original is due to
this supposed fact. Thus it is a wholly characteristic primitive
idea to which Dudley Kidd refers when he mentions that,
according to the belief of the Kafirs of South Africa, a man
can be magically influenced through his shadow or photography

74 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

“ because it is supposed to be an emanation of his person-
ality.” [24]

The ancient Peruvians moulded images of fat, mixed with
grain, to imitate the person whom they disliked or feared and
then burned the effigy on the road along which the intended
victim was to pass. They called this “ burning the soul
But according to whether the victim was an Indian or a
Viracocha, that is, a Spaniard, they drew a delicate distinction
between the kinds of materials to be used in the manufacture
of the images. To kill an Indian, they employed maize and
the fat of a llama; to kill a Spaniard, they used wheat and the
fat of a pig, “ because Viracochas did not eat llamas and
preferred wheat to maize.” [25] This distinction made
between an Indian and a white man is significant and indicates
that the ideas of primitive peoples are more complicated in
these matters than Sir James Frazer assumes.

In their Black Magic the Malays, tells Mr. Skeat, are in
the habit of preparing wax images of persons whom they want
to injure. Before operating, however, they try to entice their
victim’s soul into it: “ for them the image alone is not
enough.” [26] In the same way we have seen that the
” sympathetic ” connection between the lock of a person’s
hair or a bit of his nail and the person himself is due to the
idea that, in those parts, the soul is present. Consequently,
in both cases, magic is closely associated with animistic ideas.

To explain the former by the Law of Similarity and the
latter by the Law of Contact, as does Frazer, scarcely conforms,
therefore, with the ideas held by savage peoples. To them
the ” contact ” in the one case is just as real as in the other.
On the whole it is worth considering whether all so-called
sympathetic magic has not originally been founded on the
notion of a soul, spirit, essence, or whatever we like to call it,
thus making the connection of “ sympathy ” possible. In
opposition to Sir James G. Frazer, who takes magic to have
preceded religion in the evolution of thought, I think there
are grounds for assuming that a great number of magical
practices which, nowadays, have nothing to do with a belief
in spirits, have originally had a purely animistic basis.

In any case, the instances adduced in this chapter show
clearly that in some of its most typical and important forms
magic is closely associated with the idea of a soul. But we

THE SOUL AND MAGICAL “ POWER ”

75

have to note further that in man there is an intrinsic tendency
to project his own psychical life upon the phenomena of the
surrounding world. The soul and the magical power pro-
ceeding from it may also occur outside man, in animals, in plants,
and in inanimate objects of nature. In this way arises nature
animism and the worship of nature with fetishism and the
ideas of a supernatural power in natural objects. Phenomena
of this kind will be examined in the following chapters.

CHAPTER V

THE WORSHIP OF ANIMALS

T O civilized man, nothing appears more strange and un-
intelligible than the religious reverence paid by primitive
peoples all over the world to animals. On closer examination,
however, it may seem natural that the savage, just as he shows
in general a tendency to project his own internal life upon the
external world, should ascribe to animals the same kind of soul
as he himself possesses.

To imderstand fully that peculiar form of primitive religion
called animal worship, we should further consider that just as
the savage removes the boundary between organic and in-
organic nature, so he also overlooks the sharp distinction made
by civilized man between man and the animal world.

To the former, the animals do not represent any creation
of a lower order; intellectually and morally he regards them
as equal to, if not superior to himself. Many animals in-
disputably surpass man in strength, swiftness of movement
and acuteness of the senses. The obvious power, for in-
stance, of many insects, birds, and other animals to foretell
the weather may be one of the reasons why primitive peoples
generally ascribe to them a prophetic clear-sightedness in other
respects.

In the primitive worship of animals we find a special applica-
tion of the principle that uncultured man deifies everything
which appears strange and unintelligible, especially when it
influences, or is believed to influence, his welfare in some way.
It is a general rule that the animals most worshipped are those
which, through their mysterious powers and qualities, excite
his imagination and inspire him with fear or awe. Thus the
serpent, because of its peculiar outward appearance, its
mysterious movements, and, above all, of its death-bringing
bite, tends specially to excite the imagination of a primitive
mind, and has in fact played an important part in the mythology
and religion of most lower peoples. For the same reason,

THE WORSHIP OF ANIMALS

77

animals such as the lion, the tiger, and the crocodile have been
worshipped as evil and destructive divinities.

The opinion has been expressed that primitive man originally
worshipped certain animals, not because they were looked upon
as animated by a spirit or soul, but simply because, through
their mysterious qualities, they awakened feelings of fear and
awe and were thus raised to the rank of divinities. In this way
Dr. Marett explains the worship of animals from a pre-animistic
point of view. “ There are many animals,” Dr. Marett says,
“ that are propitiated by primitive man neither because they are
merely useful nor merely dangerous, but because they are, in a
word, uncanny. . . . Religious awe is towards Powers, and
these are not necessarily spirits or ghosts, though they tend to
become so.” [i]

I shall not dwell long upon these pre-animistic speculations
in regard to animal worship. It is remarkable, however, that
Dr. Westermarck seems to share a similar view. According to
him, animals, like inanimate objects of nature, were originally
deihed simply because of the mysterious quality attached to them.
” It has been said of savages,” he states, “ that they do not
worship the thing itself, only the spirit indwelling in it. But
such a distinction cannot be primitive. The natural object is
worshipped because it is believed to possess supernatural power,
but it is nevertheless the object itself that is worshipped.”
In support of this view. Dr. Westermarck quotes a state-
ment by Castren relating to the Samoyedes. “ Castr^n, who
combined great personal experience with unusual acuteness of
judgment, states that the Samoyedes do not know of any
spirits attached to objects of nature, but worshipped the objects
as such: in other words, they do not separate the spirit
from the matter but adore the ^ing in its totality as a divine
being.” [2]

However, contrary to what Dr. Westermarck assumes,
Castren was obviously mistaken on this point, as shown by
recent research among the Samoyedes. Dr. Donner, one of
our best authorities on the Samoyedes, informs us that among
them the worship of nature is based wholly on animism and
that they do not worship the objects as such but as the spirit
dwelling in or behind the object. This also holds true evidently
of their worship of animals, as we shall presently see.

What the truly “ primitive ” form of animal worship may

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

78

have been, is difficult to say, but the fact would seem that there
is no savage tribe at present which worships an animal merely
because it is mysterious, or uncanny, or because it awakens
feelings of fear and awe. For the savage, the mystery of a
certain animal is only the external inducement to regard it
with religious or superstitious reverence. All savages nowadays,
at any rate, seem to have very concrete ideas about the animals
they worship as divine.

Whereas civilized man, proud of his supposed mental
superiority over the animal world, contemptuously speaks of
animals as soulless, uncultured peoples from time immemorial
have held another and more correct idea of the matter. They
have been convinced that the animal as well as man possesses
a soul, and when an animal is worshipped as a divine being,
that worship refers above all to the soul animating it. Primitive
peoples have much the same idea about this animal soul as
about the human soul. First and foremost, it is identical with the
vital power which pervades the body and guides its movements.
The power of the soul is concentrated particularly in such parts
of the animal body as the skin, the claws, and the teeth. In
the birds, the vital power resides also in the beak and the
feathers. A countless number of superstitious practices relating
to the skin, claws, and teeth of animals or the feathers of birds
are due to this idea.

On the whole, primitive peoples scarcely recognize any
special “ animal soul ” as clearly distinguished from the
human soul. As we have seen, there does not exist any funda-
mental distinction between man and the lower animals. It is
the same spirit which animates them ; the material frame only
may vary. Accordingly, the myths of many peoples tell us
that in primeval times all animals were men — or, vice versa.
This intimate association between man and animals in the
lower culture is also apparent in the primitive idea of the
transmigration of souls. The belief that in the moment of
death the soul of man migrates into an animal is met with
among primitive peoples in all parts of the world and could be
illustrated with numerous examples. Even among the Austra-
lian aborigines certain animals are the objects of a cult because
they are looked upon as the reincarnation of the spirits of the
departed. The totem animal is often believed to harbour the
soul of an ancestor or of one of these mysterious human First

THE WORSHIP OF ANIMALS

79

Beings mentioned in Australian legends. [3] Some of the
Papuans on the coast of New Guinea believe that after death,
human souls are reincarnated in animals such as the Australian
emu, the wild pig, the alligator, and certain fish, and they
abstain from eating the meat of these animals. [4]

The belief in the transmigration of souls occurs in many
islands in Oceania, in Hawaii, for instance, where the shark,
certain lizards, owls, rats, and other animals are the objects of
a cult because they are looked upon as the reincarnation of
departed souls. Similar ideas are met with in Assam, Burma,
and Cochin China, as well as among the natives of the Malay
Archipelago. [5] The Karyans of Borneo believe that when the
soul of a man separates from the body after death, it takes the
shape of a quadruped or a bird. If a deer, for example, is seen
in the neighbourhood of the grave of a man who has recently
died, his relatives will be quite certain that his soul has taken
up its abode in this animal, and will abstain from eating the
meat of deer. [6]

The Malays of Borneo, as we have seen, assume the existence
of two souls in man. Some animals are believed to have only
one soul. These are called “ real animals Others again,
domestic animals like the deer, the grey monkeys, and the wild
pigs, are thought to have two souls like man himself, one bruwa
and one ton luwa. At times these may live like men and inhabit
houses like men. The soul of the panther is particularly feared
and the killing of this animal is attended by special and peculiar
ceremonies. Among other things the hunters have to coat
themselves with the blood of fowls in order to protect them-
selves against the revengeful spirit of the slain animal. [7]
We are told of the Battas of Sumatra that they seldom kill a
tiger, or do so only in observing certain ceremonies, because
they believe that the souls of their dead relatives pass into this
ferocious beast. [8]

The same belief prevails in many parts of Africa, both among
Hamitic or partly Hamitic peoples and among the different
Bantu tribes. In a very t^ical way it appears among the
Kafirs of South Africa. These natives, we are told by Dudley
Kidd, associate the spirits of their ancestors with some special
animal, most commonly with a snake, though in some tribes
with crocodiles, lions, elephants, and so forth. These animals
then serve as a modified totem. It is most unlucky to kill them

8o PRIMITIVE RELIGION

even by accident, a sacrifice being required to put matters
right.

By far the commonest belief, however, is that the ancestors
visit the living in the shape of, or through the medium of,
snakes. A chief, for example, is supposed to enter into a boa
constrictor, the lesser fry into small snakes, and the women
into sleepy fat old lizards, which are considered most con-
temptible creatures. A snake is known to be an ancestral spirit
only when its entrance and exit to the kraal cannot be observed.
The Kafir will sometimes tell you that it is the shade of the
dead man who enters the snake and thus makes it love to haunt
the kraal for the sake of company. “ It is a strange spectacle,”
Dudley Kidd says, “ when sitting with some Kafirs at a kraal,
to see a snake suddenly glide out of the cattle kraal. A stranger
picks up a stick to kill it, but the people say, ‘ Hold. Do you
not know that this is our ancestor? Would you kill our an-
cestor ? ’ WTien the snake makes its appearance there is a great
joy in the kraal, the people saying, ‘ Our ancestor has come to
visit us.’ ” [9]

Livingstone tells of the Bantu negroes in the Mopane district,
that they allowed the lions to propagate freely, because they
believed that the souls of their chiefs entered into these animals
and therefore they dared not kill them. For the same reason
the lion was regarded as sacred by the Mkanga at the River
Zambesi. [10] The crocodile likewise in many parts of Africa
is worshipped as a sacred animal, among others by the tribes
of Madagascar. These imagine that the souls of their departed
relatives are reincarnated in different animals, according to their
social status while alive. The souls of noble people are re-
incarnated in python serpents, crocodiles, and eels, and the
natives try to facilitate the process in various ways. [11] The
Congo negroes believe that their departed relatives change into
hippopotami, leopards, gorillas and antelopes, and consequently
treat these animals with religious reverence. [12]

Ideas of the same kind are quite common among the Indians
of the New World. In North America, belief in the trans-
migration of souls refers in the first place to those animals
revered as clan totems. Many Indian tribes therefore think
that the souls of their ancestors are reincarnated in animals like
the grizzly bear, the buffalo, the wolf, the eagle, and in snakes,
especially the rattlesnake. Similarly, animal beings play an

THE WORSHIP OF ANIMALS 8i

important part in the religion and superstition of the Central
and South American Indians. Of the quadrupeds, the jaguar
and other species of the feline family are of special interest.
Ideas about a “ man-tiger seem to be current among natives
in all parts of the continent where this ferocious beast is
found. Thus among the Quichua-speaking peoples of the
Andes from Peru to the Argentine, the jaguar has always been
regarded with superstitious fear because it is thought in some
cases to be uturiincuy that is, men who have been changed into
tigers. The Caingu^ on the Upper Parang in Misiones believe
that a tiger roaming about in the neighbourhood of a burial-
place is nothing more than the buried dead person, who has
been changed into this animal. [13]

I found the same belief among the Chaco tribes, also among
the Indians of Western Amazonas. Tnbes like the Jibaros, the
Zaparos, the Canelos Indians and the Napo Indians look upon
the jaguar as an evil demon, and especially as the reincarnation
of the spirit of a medicine-man or sorcerer. They believe this
of all species of the feline family. Even in his lifetime a
sorcerer is supposed to be able to transform himself occasionally
into a jaguar or a tiger-cat for the purpose of bewitching other
people. This shape he assumes particularly after death. If a
jaguar attacks or lulls an Indian, or even takes one of his swine
or dogs, it is immediately clear to the rest that an enemy
sorcerer has been at work, taking the form of the beast to carry
out his evil designs. In the same way medicine-men in the
shape of jaguars or tiger-cats are believed to send disease.
Hence, when a medicine-man cures a patient, he mentions the
jaguar and the tiger-cats among different demoniacal animals
which may possibly have sent the evil. Both the Jibaros and the
Canelos Indians make a distinction between “ natural ” tigers
and demoniacal tigers, the latter being the species which attack
man or do him harm. The same distinction is made in regard
to several other animals. [14]

The spirits of malignant sorcerers are also thought to pass
temporarily into other animal beings which, through some
peculiarity in their appearance or their habits of life, are likely
to give rise to superstitious beliefs. Among these the venomous
snakes are of particular interest. The idea generally prevalent
in the whole of tropical South America seems to be that with the
bite of the venomous snake, an evil spirit enters into the body.

82

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

But the Indians go still further in their theory. The Jibaro8»
for instance, are convinced in every case that the demon {wakam)
which entered into the person and stung him to death was
nothing more than the devil-soul of a sorcerer, who had taken
the shape of the reptile in order to kill his enemy. Just as
the Indians distinguish between “ natural and demoniacal
jaguars, so they distinguish between “ natural and demoniacal
or supernatural snakes, the latter being snakes in which the
souls of sorcerers have temporarily taken up their abode. The
Jibaros call such snakes tunchima^ i,e. “ bewitched If a
non-venomous snake stings, or if the bite of a venomous one is
harmless, this is merely an ordinary or “ natural ** snake-bite.
If, on the other hand, the person becomes dangerously ill or
dies as a result, the snake was tunchima. Therefore, persons
stung by bewitched snakes generally die, or can be cured only
by the magic art of other sorcerers. [15]

Few phenomena of the animal world have impressed the
primitive Indian mind as strongly as venomous snakes. I may
add in this connection that it is evidently the venomous snakes
which suggested to the Indian sorcerers the ideas upon which
their magic art is based. Moreover, originally, the Indian
arrow-poison is probably nothing more than an imitation of
snake poison, the same superstitious ideas being associated with
both. [16]

According to Indian belief the souls of dead persons are also
frequently reincarnated in birds, in which case they are regarded
as sacred or demoniacal. In nocturnal birds especially, the
Indians often fancy they meet the spirits of departed relatives,
who speak to them in the mournful and dismal tones of these
birds. But the most common idea about birds is that they serve
temporarily as the agents of malignant sorcerers, who are
carrying out their evil designs against other people. As with
venomous snakes, so may certain birds be “ bewitched This
implies that a sorcerer is supposed to have hidden in the bird
his own soul, or his death-bringing magical “ arrow ”. The bird
will thereupon carry it away and use it against the person whom
the sorcerer wants to kill or harm. The birds connected with
this belief are generally notable for some peculiarity in their
appearance, their habits of life, or their sounds. If birds are
believed thus to act as the agents of wizards, one can under-
stand why they figure so frequently in the conjurations used,

THE WORSHIP OF ANIMALS 83

for instance, by the medicine-men among the Indians of the
Amazonas, for trying to cure patients bewitched by such
wizards. [17]

Such ideas are by no means limited to the South American
Indians. They occur among many other primitive peoples
living under the same natural conditions. Among the Indians
of North America, for example, it is commonly believed that
certain animals may cause sickness, an idea with the same
origin probably as in South America.

I myself have summarized in the following way the ideas
held by the South American Indians in regard to animal spirits.
“ According to the Indian theory all animals— -quadrupeds,
birds, reptiles, insects — possess a spirit or soul which in essence
is of the same kind as that animating man, and which survives
the destruction of the body. All animals have once been men,
or all men animals. This seems to be the view explicitly or
implicitly held by all tribes. Hence the primitive view which
the Indians share with most other uncivilized peoples, and
w^hich intellectually and morally places the animals on a footing
of equality with man. In the practical religion or superstition
of the Indians, however, only such animals play a part which
for special reasons — above all on account of the harm that they
do to man — have particularly attracted their attention. Such
animals are either, in general, looked upon as the permanent
or temporary reincarnations of certain human souls; or they
are believed incidentally to carry the magical arrow of the
sorcerers and thus to serve as their agents in working evil.
Since the magical “ arrow ” is regarded as a vehicle for the
sorcerer’s own soul, it follows that there is no essential difference
between those two sets of ideas.” [18]

This view of Indian “ animal worship ”, which rejects the
assumption of a special animal soul ”, is shared on the whole
by so acute a student of Indian customs as Sir Everard F. Im
Thurn, who, among other things, states with special reference
to the Guiana Indians: ” It is not, therefore, too much to say
that according to the view of the Indians, other animals differ
from men only in bodily form and in their various degrees of
strength. And they differ in spirit not at all; for just as the
Indian sees in the separation which takes place at death or in
dreams proofs of the existence of a spirit in man, [so in this same
death-analysis of body and spirit — all other qualities being in

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

84

his view much the same in men and other animals — he sees
proof of the existence in every animal of a spirit similar to
that of man.” [19]

Turning now to another part of the world, we find among the
Finno-Ugrian, Turco-Tartarian, and other peoples of Nordiem
Asia, for instance, certain forms of animal worship, but only a
few traces of the theory of the reincarnation of human souls in
animals in the proper sense of the word. Thus the Votyaks
believe that, among other things, departed relatives may visit
the survivors in the shape of butterflies, [20] an idea prevalent
among many peoples and which I myself found among the
Indians of Eastern Ecuador. The I^apps tell how a deceased
person, who had been buried in an island, flew over the lake
in the shape of a big bird. During his rambles the soul of the
Lappish noida (sorcerer) was able to hurry along the earth as a
reindeer, to fly through the air as a bird, to dive through the
depths as a fish, and to crawl in the interior of the ear^ as a
snake. [21] According to the belief of the ancient Finns, the
souls of the departed could also roam about in the shape of
wolves, that is, be changed into werewolves (vironsusi). [22]

The bear has been the most important of the animals wor-
shipped among the Finno-Ugrian peoples of Northern Russia
and Siberia and among other peoples of Northern Asia, for
instance the Samoyedes. The ideas about it appear to have been
much about the same everywhere : it was not looked upon as an
“ animal ” in the strict sense of the word, but as a personality,
equal or rather superior to man in powers and qualities. The
ancient Finns in general seem to have thought of the bear as human
in origin, in some cases as the soul of a noida reincarnated in the
beast. Professor Krohn is evidently right in stating that the
worship of the bear among the Finns and the Lapps was closely
connected with the worship of the dead. [23] Dr. Karjalainen
makes the same statement about the Jugra peoples, the Ostyaks
and Vogules of Northern Asia. ” TTie reverence paid to
animals,” he says, ” has the same foundation as the one from
which the worship of the dead has arisen, namely, the idea of
the soul. The worship of animals is a form of the worship of
the departed in the wide sense of the word ; it is the cult of an
animal’s spirit which is believed to be capable of action after
death.”

According to this author, the only distinction between these

THE WORSHIP OF ANIMALS 85

forms of primitive worship is, that whereas a dead man is a
completely individual being, game killed at the same time is
representative of the whole species to which it belongs. The
rites performed after the killing of a bear have, of course, for
their object the propitiation of the free-soul of this beast, but
at the same time they refer to the whole genus. [24] Such
facts undoubtedly tend to confirm the view hinted at above,
namely, that the Finno-Ugrian religion has its very foundation
in the worship of the dead. They also help us to understand
that the reverence paid to animals among these peoples, has a
purely animistic basis. It cannot, as is suggested by Dr. Marett
and Dr. Westermarck, be explained merely from the “ uncanny”
character or the “ mysteriousness ” of certain animals.

The Ostyaks and the Vogules also worship animal beings
such as the wolf and the elk, birds like the horned owl, the
loom, the swan, and the woodpecker, reptiles like the snake,
the lizard, the toad, etc. [25] As of the bear, the same may be
said of these: there is no belief in a regular transmigration of
human souls into these animals, but, nevertheless, the soul
animating the animals is thought in some way to be a human
soul, and the cult surrounding them is exactly the same in detail
as the cult of the dead.

That the worship of animals refers to the soul believed to
animate them, appears also from the ceremonies, touched on
above, which in some cases accompany the killing of the game.
1 have already mentioned an instance of this kind in reference
to the Borord in Brazil. They consider that no animal killed
in hunting, no fish caught in the river can be eaten unless it has
previously been “ blessed ” by a medicine-man. This is due to
the supposition that the souls of the medicine-men, 6an, are
reincarnated preferably in the animals and fish most appreciated
as food. [26]

In Noi^ America, for instance, ceremonies of the same kind
were performed by the Indians of British Columbia with the
grizzly bear and by the Cherokee Indians with the eagle and
the rattlesnake when killed. Their object was to propitiate the
soul of the slain animal. Otherwise the revenge would turn
against the hunter and his whole tribe. Among the Cherokee the
eagle could be killed only by an “ eagle-killer ” specially selected
for the purpose, who knew those prayers and conjurations by
which the spirit of the powerful bird could be propitiated. Like*

86

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

wise these Indians killed a rattlesnake only in urgent cases, after
which they had to ask the forgiveness of the slaughtered reptile
through a priest. [27]

Precisely the same were the ceremonies performed by the
ancient Finns and Lapps, the Siberian peoples and the Ainu of
Japan after the killing of a bear. [28] Finnish peoples such as
the Syijanes and Votyaks believed that the bear knew his enemy
and could persecute him even when dead. They thought it
dangerous, therefore, to laugh in front of a slaughtered bear. [29]
Among the Finns proper the dead bear was harangued, all
sorts of flattering attributes and pet names being addressed to
him. The beast w^as asked to pardon those who had taken his
life ; or the himters would try to make themselves guiltless by
blaming another person for what had happened.

In the same way among the Koryak, when a dead bear is
brought to the house, the women come out to meet it, dancing
with fire-brands. The bear-skin is taken off together with the
head; one of the women puts on the skin, dances in it, and
entreats the bear not to be angr}% but to be kind to the people.
At the same time they offer meat on a wooden platter to the
dead beast, saying, “ Eat friend ”. Afterwards, a ceremony is
performed for the purpose of sending the dead bear, or rather
his spirit, back to his home. This ceremony is intended to
protect the people from the wrath of the slain bear and his
kinsfolk, and so to ensure success in future bear-hunts. [30]

Without entering upon a further survey of animal worship as
far as uncultured peoples are concerned, one can establish the
fact that there is scarcely an animal too insignificant to become
the object of worship. Even animals like reptiles, fish, and
insects may serve as the permanent or temporary abode of a
human soul. As to the doctrine of reincarnation or metem-
psychosis, it is a well-known fact that it has not been limited
to so-called primitive peoples. It has formed part and parcel
of certain higher religions like Brahmanism and Buddhism, while
Greek philosophers like Pythagoras, Empedocles, and Plato
have, due doubtless to oriental influence, adopted it in their
philosophical systems. Both Pythagoras and Empedocles seem
to have taught that human souls may pass not only into animals,
but also into plants. [31] In the systems of these philosophers,
however, just as in Indian Brahmanism, the doctrine of re-
incarnation is associated with certain ethical ideas of moral

THE WORSHIP OF ANIMALS 87

retribution, etc., of which uncultured peoples know nothing.
The origin of such ideas in the higher Indian religions is still
an unsolved problem, all the more enigmatical inasmuch as the
doctrine of reincarnation, even in its primitive form, seems to
have been unknown to the Aryan peoples in prehistoric times.

Speaking of the religious ideas of the Indians of North-West
Brazil, an English ethnologist points out that “ the Indians
believe in the temporary transmission of the disembodied soul
into the form of an animal, bird, or reptile, but not in a regular
and enforced series of such transmissions. This temporary
transmission is for the pursuance of a certain aim, perhaps for
some indefinite length of time. Whether the animal is human,
whether, when invaded, it incorporates two spirits and becomes
dual-souled, the Indian does not relate.’’ [32] This may, I
believe, be said of most primitive peoples. Vainly shall we look
for an answer to the question as to how, in such cases, the two
souls, the animal’s “ own ” soul and the invading “ human ”
soul are related to one another. Savages are not used to
systematizing their ideas, and a problem with a theoretical
interest only will scarcely present itself to their mind. Certainly
it does seem that the animals looked upon as the reincarnation
of persons important and mighty in life, are those which
become the objects of worship or of superstitious practices.
Among other things, as we shall see later, totemism is most
probably based on this idea.

The ideas mentioned above with special reference to modem
primitive peoples, may also explain animal worship as it existed
among peoples of archaic culture like the Egyptians, the Baby-
lonians, the Assyrians, and the Greeks. It is curious to find,
among so highly cultured a people as the Greeks, numerous traces
of an animal worship which must be classified as markedly prim-
itive. Not only were animals attributed with a soul, but they were
even regarded as personalities responsible for their actions.
That such a view actually prevailed is shown, for instance, by
the rule in Plato’s Laws which prescribes that an animal which
causes the death of anyone shall be prosecuted for murder by
the kinsmen of the deceased, and, after the trial, be slain by
them and cast beyond the border. [33] Moreover, wonderful
faculties were often ascribed to them by the ancients. “ Nature ”,
says Pliny, “ has endowed most animals with the gift of fore-
casting winds, rain, and storm, and as to their power to foretell

88 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

the destiny of man many observations could be made. They
warn man by their cries and by their entrails which are often
examined by people who hope to foresee their destiny in them.
On the other hand, they have often showed their power and
their superiority to man by causing him enormous harm.” [34]

These are the selfsame ideas one finds presented to the
primitive mind everywhere. And from such a general view-
point it is only a step to the conception of certain creatures as
incarnate deities.

When we are told by *Elian, for instance, that the Delphians
worshipped the wolf, the Samians the goat, the Ampraciotans
the lioness, and the Thebans the weasel, [35] we cannot, in the
absence of further statements, assign with certainty the ideas
upon which these cases of local animal worship were founded.
.Lilian ’s explanation that the Ampraciotans worshipped the
lioness because this animal had killed their tyrant Phaylos and
had thus given them their liberty, [36] contains at least the
general truth that ideas of the supernatural are often connected
by lower peoples with outstanding incidents. The wolf as the
incarnation of everything that is dark, cruel, and destructive in
nature, played rather an important part in Greek mythology,
but there is also evidence of its sometimes actually being
propitiated and worshipped as a terrible deity. [37]

As to birds, Aristotle tells that the Thessalians worshipped
the stork as a god. According to him, the origin of this cult
was that the storks devoured the snakes which at a certain time
had increased so enormously in Thessalia that they threatened
to expel the people from that country. The killing of a stork
was strictly forbidden and was ranked with homicide. [38]
Among birds of prey the eagle was the most important. The
Greeks called it a “ divine ” bird because of its power of high
flight and keen sight. The owl, if not worshipped as a deity,
at any rate played its part in the superstition of the Greeks.
Owing to its habit of living in solitary deserts and its awful
nightly shrieks they looked upon it as a bird of ill-omen, not
only for individuals, but for whole states. [39]

TTiere are also numerous traces of ophiolatry in the ancient
Greek religion. Serpents were believed to be gifted with a
mysterious knowledge of the plants which could revive the
dead. They fancied, moreover, that the departed frequently
assumed the shape of this reptile, thus appearing to the living.

THE WORSHIP OF ANIMALS 89

The chtonic character of the snake, that is, its habit of
lurking in underground places, tended to give rise to such a
belief; in fact, Herodotus calls the serpent “a child of the
earth ** (gis pais). Hence it became a symbol of all things
subterranean and especially of the grave. Serpent worship
among the Greeks was thus to a certain extent a form of the
worship of ancestors. [40] But there are also some instances
of direct ophiolatry. The Athenians, for instance, according
to Herodotus, had in their Acropolis a huge serpent which was
the guardian of the whole place and was fed every month with
honey-cakes. The same writer tells us that in the neighbour-
hood of Thebes there were some sacred serpents of a peculiar
kind, with two horns growing out of the top of their head.
When they died, these snakes were buried in the temple of
Zeus. [41] In the Peloponnesus, tells -^lian, the Argives con-
sidered snakes in general sacred and did not kill them. If we
add that the Thessalians worshipped ants, that in some parts
of Greece mice were looked upon as prophets and in some
sense as divine beings because of the harm they caused, that
fish like the dolphin and the eel, as well as the lobster, were held
sacred and regarded with great veneration, [42] we may con-
clude that the worship of animals played a strikingly important
part in the religion of the greatest people of antiquity.

At a time when it was customary to solve the most important
problems of primitive religion with the help of the theory of
totemism, it was considered quite natural to assume that the
animal beings worshipped or held sacred by the Greeks were
originally nothing but totem animals. Jevons, for instance, to
whom totemism “ is the only satisfactory answer why certain
plants and animals are sacred ”, finds it highly probable that
such instances of animal worship as those referred to above
could have their root in totemism. [43] The fact is, however,
that there are only faint traces of a clan organization among the
ancient Greeks and no real evidence of a totemic system. The
sacredness ascribed to certain animals probably had a very
different origin, but, owing to the scarcity of evidence, it is
difficult, even impossible, to assign this origin in each case.

Somewhat the same may be said, for instance, of the worship
of animals in the ancient Egyptian, the Canaanite-Phcenician,
and the Mexican religions. Like the Greeks, these ancient
peoples often represented their higher gods as theriomorphic.

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

90

The worship of the divine being in the shape of a bull in the
Canaanite cult of baaU had even as we know penetrated into
the Israelite Jahwe-religion. Among the Egyptians several
animals were the objects of religious reverence; supernatural
powers and faculties were ascribed to them, among these, the
faculty of foretelling future events. When we learn that
animals like the cat, the crocodile, the hippopotamus, the hawk,
and the ibis were regarded as “ sacred we may unhesitatingly
compare this worship with the one found among most lower
peoples of the present day. Although it has been asserted that
“ for the Egyptians, totemism, may be regarded as certain ”, [44]
I believe Aat, as with the Greeks so with the Egyptians; the
worship of these and other animals has little or nothing to
do with the said problematic totemism, but must be explained
wholly in terms of the impression made on the mind of the
primitive ancient inhabitants of the valley of the Nile by certain
striking and ferocious quadrupeds and reptiles or mysterious
birds. A far more difficult problem arises, the association of
some of the most important divinities with certain animals in
the highly developed Egyptian religion. The deity Isis was
represented by the head of a cow, Horns by the head of a hawk,
Typhon by the head of an ass, and so on. In regard to other
Aryan religions, a “ totemic ” explanation does not help us in
the least. At the same time, from the sources at our disposal,
it is difficult to derive any satisfactory theory as to the peculiar
fact hinted at above.

Leaving out of account the difficulties which the worship of
animals offers in certain polytheistic religions, one may state,
as a result of this short survey, that, as far as one can judge,
the religious reverence paid to certain animal beings in lower
cultures has an animistic origin. The “ sacredness ” ascribed
to certain animals by some peoples, the real reverence paid to
them by others, refers to the soul believed to animate them.
We may go even a step further and state that on closer investi-
gation the soul, worshipped in animals, proves to be a human
soul which in one way or another has taken up its abode in the
animal in question.

Most lower peoples are familiar with the theory of metemp-
sychosis or the belief in the reincarnation of the dead in
animab, and even where no belief is found in a regular trans-
migration of souls, as among Aryan and most North Asiatic

THE WORSHIP OF ANIMALS 91

peoples, the “ animal soul ” worshipped is still regarded as
being essentially of the same kind as man’s. But just as the
soul which inhabits the human body becomes the seat of a
remarkable magical power, the same may be said of the animal
soul. It is a well-known fact that uncivilized peoples com-
monly prepare all sorts of amulets and magical “ medicines ”
from certain parts of the bodies of slaughtered animals.

If, for example, the soul of a sorcerer is believed to have
taken up its abode in a quadruped, a bird, or a reptile, these
beings are likely to become “ magical Certain parts of their
body may become charged in the highest degree with the same
psychical power, manaj or whatever one likes to call it, possessed
by the sorcerer. But it is also natural that the reincarnated soul
should participate in the powers and faculties of the very
animal in which it has taken up its new abode. The soul of a
medicine-man reincarnated in a tiger or a venomous snake, can
use the dangerous powers of this animal or reptile for his own
wicked ends. Naturally the “ power ” is seated particularly
in those parts of the animal’s body where the vital power is
concentrated, above all in the skin, the claws, and the teeth.

The African negro chief, who clothes himself in the skin
of a lion or leopard, or wears a collar made of the teeth of these
animals as an “ embellishment ” or a mark of his distinction,
believes at the same time that by means of this outfit, he has
considerably enhanced the “ power ” with which he is endowed
by nature. Similarly, the collars and necklaces of jaguar’s teeth
worn among many tribes of tropical South America, are not
embellishments or ornaments in the common sense of. the
word, but are amulets which protect their wearer against evil
influences and give the warrior something of the power and
courage of the jaguar. The head-omaments of eagle feathers
worn formerly by the Indian chiefs in North America, evidently
had a similar magical significance.

I have mentioned before that in the mountain regions of
Peru and Bolivia, a “ man-tiger ” is called uturiincu by the
Quichua-speaking Indians. It is a highly “ magical ” animal.
The fat of the uturiincuy for instance, is sold by the Indians at
the market-places as a very powerful medicine for the cure of
rheumatism and many other ailments. [45] In Peru, the same
wonderful efficacy is commonly ascribed to the tallow of the
llama, which, from time immemorial, has been regarded by the

92 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

Indians as a sacred animal on account of its supposed faculty
of receiving the souls of the dead. I have also mentioned the
rattlesnake as a sacred reptile among the Cherokee Indians in
North America. If, in spite of the reverence paid to this reptile,
the Indians sometimes kill it, they do so among other things,
because they much appreciate as medicines the rattle, the fangs,
and the fat of the rattlesnake. [46]

Instances of this kind could be mentioned almost indefinitely.
In addition to the numerous plant medicines, they undoubtedly
illustrate in an interesting way the line of thought on which the
primitive conception of magical “ power ” is based.

I shall have the opportunity to return to animal worship
among the lower religions in connection with totemism, fre-
quently referred to in this chapter. From the above statements
one sees clearly that animal worship by no means coincides
with totemism, as asserted by some historians of primitive
religion. The totems, however, are not only animals but also
plants, in fact, even inanimate objects of nature. It is con-
venient, therefore, to treat of this form of religion only after
certain other aspects of the primitive view called animism have
been examined.

CHAPTER VI

THE WORSHIP OF PLANTS

I N setting forth his well-known theory about the plant soul
being merely a lower form of the psychical life found in
animals and man, Aristotle expressed a view which was evidently
universal in antiquity which, on the whole, is shared by all
primitive peoples of the present time.

As for the latter, however, it is doubtful whether uncivilized
peoples really do believe that the plant soul represents a
psychical life of lower degree than that found in animals and
men. On the contrary the worship of trees and plants, so
common among such peoples, shows that the plant spirits, who
in most cases are probably identical with, or have been developed
out of the souls animating men, are often raised to the rank of
real divinities by primitive peoples.

Just as animal worship has a purely animistic origin, so the
worship of plants is intimately connected with the belief in
souls animating trees and plants. In essence, this plant
soul seems to be the same as the soul or spirit animating
man. Frequently the belief even appears that the souls of
deceased persons transmigrate into certain trees. The primitive
theory of reincarnation refers, therefore, not only to animals,
but also to trees and plants. Such a view is by no means
incomprehensible. Scarcely to a less degree than animals,
plants offer characteristics which to an undeveloped mind tend
to make them appear as conscious beings, living a life similar
to that of man himself. Like man, the plants grow up, flourish,
and fall into decay; at regular intervals they dress themselves
in green and again shed their leaves ; they produce fruits and
flowers which excite the wonder of uncivilized man. Swayed
by the breeze or smitten by the storm, the tree is never at rest.
Murmurs are heard in its foliage, its branches creak and writhe
as in agony; sounds issue from the gaunt stem or hollow
trunk. Observations of this kind have induced even the highly
cultured peoples of antiquity to pay religious reverence to

93

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

94

trees and plants, while among most uncultured peoples of
our own time, this form of primitive nature worship is most
marked.

This may be said, for instance, of the peoples of the New
World. In North America, the tree spirits generally seem to
be conceived as human souls, or at any rate as spirits of the
same kind as those animating the human body. In some cases
there is even the idea of a direct transmigration of human souls
into trees. In a report of the British Association on the north-
western tribes of Canada w-e are thus told that “ trees are
considered transformed men. The creaking of the limbs is
their voice.” [i] This belief, for instance, is held of the cedar,
which to many North American tribes is sacred. So is it with
the Cherokee, who regard the cedar, although not a totem,
with the same superstition as that with which they regard
certain animals.

The small green twigs are burnt as incense in certain cere-
monies, especially to counteract the effect of evil dreams; they
think that the malicious demons who cause such dreams cannot
endure the smell of burning cedar. But the wood itself is
considered too sacred to be used as fuel. “ According to a
myth, the red tinge of the wood comes originally from the
blood of a wicked magician, whose severed head was hung on
the top of a tall cedar.” [2] From this we may infer that the
spirit or soul which the Cherokee believe animates the cedar,
is identical with the soul of a magician, and that the mana or
supernatural power ascribed to the wood, twigs, and other
parts of the tree proceeds from this soul. When a human soul,
and, in particular, the soul of a medicine-man and sorcerer,
is supposed to be incarnated in an animal or plant, certain
parts of that animal or plant are thought to possess mysterious
magical properties. In full accord with this view, for instance,
the tribes of North-West America always make the insignia or
magical crests of the secret societies of the bark of cedar,
“ carefully prepared and dyed red by means of maple bark.
It may be said that the secrets are vested in these ornaments
of red cedar bark, and wherever these ornaments are found
on the north-west coast, secret societies occur.” [3] The
Iroquois believed that each species of tree, shrub, plant, and
herb had its own spirit, and to these spirits they used to return
thanks. [4]

THE WORSHIP OF PLANTS 95

Among the Indians of South America I myself have shown
numerous traces of a plant worship. Nowhere, it seems to me,
do their ideas about the spirits inhabiting trees and plants
appear in a more typical form than among the Jibaros and
Canelos Indians in Western Amazonas, whom I have studied
myself. One tenet in the animistic philosophy of these Indians
is that trees and plants have their spirits and souls just like
men and animals. According to the mythology of the Jibaros,
as we have seen, “ all animals have once been men ”, and although
there is no similar myth in regard to plants, their whole animism
rests on the belief that even the plants are in a sense human.
This belief implies that the spirits that animate them are
the same as those animating the human body, andthey may
once more, either for a longer period or only casually,
take human form. The Jibaros speak to the plants as if they
were endowed with human thought and feelings. Moreover,
when intoxicated by the narcotic drinks prepared from certain
vines and herbs, the Jibaro Indian declares that he sees the
spirits of these plants in a definite human form, namely, as
one of his remote ancestors. Sex even is attributed to each
kind of tree or plant. Some are supposed to be men, i.e. to
have a man’s wakani or soul, others are said to be women, i.e,
to have a woman’s soul. This view is also seen in the custom
of giving the children the names of trees and plants. Male
children take those thought of as masculine, and female children
those thought of as feminine.

The growth of trees and plants and the ripening of their
fruits are said to be due to the wakani or soul inhabiting them.
As to their significance in the practical religion or superstition
of the Indians, the same holds true as of animals: marked
attention is paid to trees and plants with special alimentary
properties, or to those distinguished by certain striking charac-
teristics.

The worship of garden crops and medical plants will be
mentioned later. Among trees looked upon as “ sacred ” or
important from a religious point of view, the palm is of special
interest. There are numerous kinds of palms in South America
as we know. Many of them are extremely useful to the Indians
because of their fruits, and other materials, or from various
other points of view. As to fruit, the chontaruru or cultivated
chonta palm {Gmlielma sp.) is the most noted. Its excellent

96 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

fruits provide the most appreciated food of the Indians for a
couple of months in the year, and still more appreciated, perhaps,
is Ae fermented drink which they make from them. The
chontaruru palm has a man’s toakani, or soul, and is therefore
planted and tended by the men. At the time of the year when
the fruits ripen, great festivals are held in connection with the
preparation of the drink and the actual ceremony. Dances are
performed and incantations sung with a view to “ speeding the
ripening and increase of the fruits and the fermentation of
the drink.”

On the other hand the chonta palm, both the cultivated and
the wild species {Bactris, Iriartea), is also regarded as a demonic
tree because of the large thorns which play an important part
in Indian sorcery. Among the tribes of the Amazonas territory
the medicine-men make frequent use of chonta thorns for the
purpose of bewitching their enemies. The Quichua-speaking
Indians of the Upper Amazonas therefore call the arrow of the
sorcerer chunta, and an Indian practising nefarious magic
chunta shitac runa, i.e. “ a c/tunto-throwing man. From this
point of view the spirit of the chonta palm is an evil demon,
called iguanchi by the Jibaros and supai by the Quichua-
speaking Indians. This is due in part to the iron-hard wood of
this palm, which is used likewise for magical ends.

Other trees which have a place in the religion and superstition
of the Indians of the Amazonas, are the genipa tree {Genipa
americana), the guayusa tree {Ikx sp.), and the shrub Bixa
Orellana. All these trees play a great part in the magic of the
Indians. From the genipa fruit they get the black dye with
which they paint their body and face for warfare and for certain
ceremonial occasions, and from the Bixa orellana, the red
paint to which no less wonderful magical effects are ascribed.
The red painting is regarded by the Indians as a protection
against disease and witchcraft; it gives the body strength
and power of resistance; it gives good luck in hunting, in
love, etc. These effects are due to the spirits animating
the trees and the shrub. It may be of interest to add that
the former is regarded by the Indians as a ” man ”, the latter as
a “ woman ”. [5]

The essential identity supposed to exist between the plant
souls and the animal and the human souls, is seen, for instance,
in what Professor Preuss tells us about the religious and

THE WORSHIP OF PLANTS

97

mythological ideas of the Uitoto in Colombia. In the Uitoto
myths, says Preuss, it is a common feature for animals and
plants to appear as men. Often, in fact, it is difficult to say
whether or not the tribes bearing animal and plant names
are meant to represent human tribes; there is absolutely no
distinction drawn between them and men, and sometimes even
they are denoted as ancestors. [6] Dr. Koch-Griinberg like-
wise states of some Arawak tribes in Guiana that the personifi-
cation of animals and plants, a characteristic feature of their
mythology, is founded on a general theory of the animation
(Beseelung) of nature. Just as every animal has a soul, so “ all
plants are animate, for they grow and die.” Koch-Griinberg
adds that plants appear only seldom as speaking and acting
independently, and that those which do are mostly magical
plants, used by hunters and fishers and for the cure of disease.
Such personified medical plants appear as the most powerful
assistants of the medicine-men at the cure. They are “ like
men “ like the shadows or souls of the trees.” [7] These
instances are typical of the ideas held of trees by the Indians of
tropical South America.

Many similar instances could be quoted from Africa. The
silk-cotton tree, for example, which reaches an enormous
height, far out-topping all the other trees of the forest, is
regarded with reverence throughout West Africa from the
Senegal to the Niger, and is believed to be the abode of a god
or spirit. Among the Ewe-speaking peoples of the Slave Coast,
the indwelling god of this giant of the forest goes by the name
of Huntin. Trees in which he dwells specially are surrounded
by a girdle of palm-leaves. Sacrifices of fowls, and occasionally
of human beings, are fastened to the trunk or laid against the
foot of the tree. A tree distinguished by such a girdle may not
be cut down or injured in any way. To omit the sacrifice is
an offence punishable by death. The negroes of Congo set
calabashes of palm-wine at the foot of certain trees for these
to drink when thirsty. [8] The Wanika of Eastern Africa
honour specially the spirits of coco-nut palms in return for
the many benefits conferred upon them by the trees. To
cut down a coco-nut palm is an inexpiable offence, equiva-
lent to matricide. Sacrifices to the trees are made on many
occasions. [9]

Tree worship also flourishes among the natives of the Malay

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

98

Archipelago, in the South Sea Islands, and in Australia. Among
the Malays, the trees are so great an object of religious reverence
that after the building of a house, which necessitates violent
treatment of trees, the builders subject themselves to penance
for a whole year, observing certain rules of abstinence in their
mode of life. Special regard is shown to the souls of the
camphor and the upas trees {Antiaris toxocaria), the latter
being the one from which they procure their dreadful arrow-
poison. If this tree is felled, penalty has to be paid. The
Malays dare not even mention the tree by its true name but
say of the camphor-tree, for instance, “ the tree the contents
of w^hich smell so badly ”, and of the upas tree, “ the tree the
poison of which is so bitter that it kills animals.” The trees
are supposed to feel wounds, they ” bleed ” when they are hit
by the axe, and since they are thus thought to have human
feelings, the natives apologize to them when they cut them
down. [10]

The Dieri in Central Australia look upon certain trees as
particularly sacred because they regard them as the departed
ancestors of the blacks w'ho have taken the shape of trees. They
speak, therefore, with reverence of these trees and take care not
to fell or bum them. If a white man should ask them to cut
them they seriously protest, assuring him that if they did, they
would lose their luck and be punished because they had not
protected their ancestors, [ii] When the Tagalogs of the
Philippines wish to pluck a flower, they ask leave of the genius
(nono) of the flower to do so; when they have to cut down a
tree they beg pardon of the genius of the tree and excuse
themselves by saying that it was the priest who bade them
fell it. [12]

Plant worship, moreover, was a characteristic feature of the
religion of the Finno-Ugrian tribes. For the most part trees were
worshipped in sacred groves. Among the Russian tribes these
were always enclosed with a fence, while among the Siberian
tribes they were not clearly distinguishable from surrounding
trees. The Votyaks, belonging to the Permian stock, called
these sacred groves by the name lud^ also the name of the spirit
residing in this place. No woman or child was allowed to enter
within the sacred enclosure, and even the men entered there
only for the purpose of performing the necessary religious rites.
No bough could be broken in this grove, no noise made, and

THE WORSHIP OF PLANTS

99

no game that had taken refuge there could be killed. Whoever
did so, was sure to be punished in some way by the local spirit,
generally by some disease. [13] Although the whole grove had
its tutelary spirit it is clear Aat this is a later belief and that
originally every tree was thought to be inhabited by a spirit of
its own. In fact, a Russian writer, Haruzin, expressly relates
that each Votyak had his own particular tree within the lud-
grove which he worshipped. [14]

That forest trees in general are animated by spirits who were
originally human souls, is a belief occurring among most Finnish
peoples. According to the belief of the Tsheremisses, for
instance, each tree has its soul 6 rt, and all tree-spirits were
originally men. The Tscheremisses think that the souls of
those who die in the forest become forest-spirits. [15] These
disembodied human souls seem to be identical with the souls
{drt) of the trees, but it is not quite clear how they think these
two kinds of spirit can be related. The theory of the trans-
migration of souls, as I have stated before, does not appear
among the Finnish tribes as typically as among many other
peoples. To what extent the spirits of the dead people
the spiritual world of tribes belonging to the Finno-Ugrian
stock, will appear with further detail in the subsequent
chapter.

The tree worship flourishing among the ancient Aryan race
in Europe is so well known and has been so elaborately dealt
with by Mannhardt and J. G. Frazer, that it need only be hinted
at here. Sir James Frazer rightly points out that the important
role tree worship played among the inhabitants of primeval
Europe, is quite natural considering that, at the dawn of
history, Europe was covered writh immense virgin forests in
which the scattered clearings must have seemed like islets in
an ocean of green. Specially characteristic was the tree cult of
the Celts, when the Druids performed their sacred rites under
enormous old oaks or in groves of oaks. Also well known is
the sacred grove at Upsala in Sweden where every tree was
regarded as divine. Similarly the ancient Slavs worshipped
trees and groves. [16] In general, the worship of sacred groves
among the different peoples of the Aryan race in Europe is as
prominent as among the Finno-Ugrian tribes, but there is no
reason, of course, to assume that the latter have been influenced
by the Aryans.

102

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

tells us that after Theseus had slain her father, she concealed
herself in the wood where, in her distress, she devotedly prayed
to the trees and bushes for protection. [25] That the same
belief lingered on among the lower population even in post-
classical times, may be inferred from passages from early
Christian writers, where it is stated that the heathen Greeks
worshipped trees and other lifeless things, “ considering them
as gods.” [26]

^^ether the worshipped tree-spirit is the very soul of the
tree related to it in the same way as the human soul and body
are related, or whether it is another spirit which for some reason
or another has taken up its abode in there, is difficult to decide in
each special case. Clearly, however, the latter idea marks a
more advanced stage in the evolution of religious thought.
Animism has been developed into fetishism or — as far as the
tree-spirit is conceived as a personal being — into polytheism
even. The tree-nymphs of Greek mythology are instances of
these personal tree-spirits. At this stage there is a looser con-
nection between the tree-spirit and the individual tree ; it may
become a deity or demon of the vegetation, no longer bound to
a particular tree, but ruler over the vegetation in general.
Abstractions of this kind are the Earth-mothers appearing in
certain higher religions, and those Maize-mothers and Rice-
mothers familiar, for instance, in the lower cultures of America
and India and wdth whom I shall presently deal.

Remarkable powers are often ascribed to these tree-gods or
-demons, and their influence is by no means always limited to
promoting the fertility of the vegetation. It is easy to under-
stand that they are believed in some cases to send rain and
sunshine, since the growth of plants is dependent on water and
warmth . When the missionary Jerome of Prague was persuading
the heathen Lithuanians to fell their sacred groves, a multitude
of women besought the Prince of Lithuania to stop him. With
the wood, they said, he was destroying the house of god from
which they were used to getting rain and sunshine. [27] The
Mundaris in Assam think that if a tree in the sacred grove is
felled, the sylvan gods evince their displeasure by withholding
rain. [28] When Ovambo women go out to sow com they take
in the basket of seed, two green branches of a particular kind of
tree. One they plant in the field together with the first seed
sown. This is believed to have the power of attracting rain;

THE WORSHIP OF PLANTS

103

hence it is called by the name “ rain-bush ” in one of the native
dialects. [29]

Closely connected with this idea is the belief that tree-spirits
make crops grow. Among the Mundaris, every village has its
sacred grove, and “ the grove deities are held responsible for the
crops and are especially honoured at all the great agricultural
festivals.” [30] The negroes of the Gold Coast practise the
custom of sacrificing at the foot of certain tall trees. They think
that if one of these were felled, all the fruits of the earth would
perish. [31] The tree-spirit also makes the herds to multiply
and blesses women with offspring. In Northern India, for
instance, the Emblica officinalis is a sacred tree in this sense. On
the eleventh of the month Phalgun (February) libations are
poured at its foot, a red or yellow string is bound round the
trunk, and prayers are offered to it for the fruitfulness of women,
animals, and crops. Again, in Northern India the coco-nut is
esteemed one of the most sacred fruits and is called Sriphala, or
the fruit of Sri, the goddess of prosperity. It is the symbol of
fertility, and all through Upper India is kept in shrines and
presented by the priests to women who desire to become
mothers. [32]

It is interesting to note the occurrence of similar ideas in
modem European folklore. In many parts of Germany and
Scandinavia, for instance, the May-tree or May-pole is apparently
supposed to exert a beneficial influence over both women and
cattle. On the first of May in Swabia and certain parts of
German Austria the peasants set up May-trees and May-bushes
at the doors of stables and byres, one for each horse and cow;
they believe this will make the cows yield much milk. [33] The
power attributed to the tree or tree-spirit is seen also from the
German custom of the Harvest-May. A large branch or a whole
tree is decked with ears of com, brought home on the last waggon
from the harvest-field and fastened on the roof of the farmhouse
or of the bam. Here it remains for a year. As Mannhardt has
shown, the branch embodies the tree-spirit conceived as the
spirit of vegetation in general. Its vivifying and fmctifying
influence is thus brought to bear on the com in particular.
Hence in Swabia, the Harvest-May is fastened among the last
stalks of corn left standing on the field; in other places it is
planted on the corn-field and the last sheaf cut is attached to its
trunk. The Harvest-May of Germany had its counterpart in

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

104

the eiresione of ancient Greece. A branch of olive or laurel was
bound about with ribbons and hung with a variety of fruits.
The eiresione was carried in procession at a harvest festival and
was fastened over the door of the house, where it remained for
a year. [34]

In modem Scandinavia the same idea survives in connection
with many popular customs and festivals. The May-tree, for
example, is full of mysterious power, identical with the vital
power of the tree, or proceeding from the spirit animating it.
The same may be said of the tutelary tree {vdrdtrddet)y generally
a linden or an ash, which stands in the middle of the yard and is
regarded as a protector of the house and the people in it. The
Scandinavian tutelary tree is doubtless a remnant of the sacred
grove formerly worshipped, but, up to recent times, it has itself
been looked upon as filled with supernatural powers and been the
object of a real cult. Every Thursday, or at least at Christmas,
ale w^as poured at its roots by the Swedish peasant, and prayers
were addressed to it. Pregnant women embraced its stem and
believed thus to secure an easy birth. Some have explained the
power of the tree by the presence of good fairies who protected
the house and were supposed to dwell in the tree, but this must
be a later idea. [35] In the Scandinavian tutelary tree we no
doubt have a remnant of the old Aryan tree cult, resting on the
belief that actual spirits or souls animated the trees. The soul of
the tree is that which makes it live and grow, but the power in its
w'ood, bark, boughs, leaves, fruits, etc., is generally conceived
impersonally. In the same way, in their ideas of the Super-
natural, primitive peoples frequently hover between the personal
and the impersonal.

The mysterious connection thought by primitive peoples to
exist between fertility in nature and fecundity in the human
world, is illustrated in an interesting way by some mysteries of
the South American Indians. These feasts take place at the
time when the fruits of certain palms, important economically,
grow ripe, and thus take on the character of harvest feasts. At
the same time, however, they are associated with marriage
ceremonies and sexual orgies, as well as with drinking-bouts and
mask-dances, a fact which gives them a very odd character.
Taken as a whole, these mystery feasts rest on the idea that the
palms are animated by human spirits which, during the sexual
orgies, and under the influence of the mask-dances and other

THE WORSHIP OF PLANTS 105

conjurations, are induced to enter into the women and make
them prolific. At the same time as fruitfulness is thus pro-
moted in the human world, the useful plants, or their spirits,
are also propagated. The Yurupary mysteries of the Uaupes
Indians of North-west Brazil belong to the same category. They
throw an interesting light on the primitive idea of conception,
but at the same time point to the unbridgeable chasm which
separates the primitive manner of thought from that of civilized
man. [36]

The above instances may be sufficient to illustrate the worship
of trees in the lower culture. Of still greater interest is the
worship of cultivated plants. It is natural that the earth, which
produces useful fruits for the sustenance of mankind, should be
likened unto a woman bearing children and regarded as a
“ Mother Thus the notion of a Corn-mother or Com-
maiden which one meets not only in North and South America
and Africa, but also in different parts of Europe, especially
among Aryan peoples. There is, too, the idea of a Rice-mother
with India as its special home.

Among North American Indians, the idea of a Corn-mother
appears in typical form among the Cherokee, who invoke the
Maize-spirit under the name of the Old Woman. Formerly the
most solemn ceremony of the tribe was the annual green-com
dance, celebrated as a preliminary to the eating of the new com.
Much ceremony also attended the planting and tending of the
maize. When the com was growing, a priest went into the field
with the owner and built a small enclosure in the middle of it.
There sat the two on the ground, the priest, rattle in hand,
singing songs of invocation to the spirit of the com. [37]

In South America there are very few traces of a cult of the
com spirit east of the Andes. In fact, apart from the beliefs of
the Jibaros and the Canelos Indians, to be mentioned again
presently, there are indirect evidences only of such a cult. This
is probably due merely to lack of information.

After describing the magical ceremonies with which the Xingu
tribes try to propitiate the slaughtered game and certain large
fishes caught, in order to make them suitable for food, the
German explorer, von den Steinen, makes the significant
additional statement that “ the same system is extended to
certain fmits, the pikiy the mangoveriy and the maize, the most
delicious. [38]

io6

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

This implies that these plants are believed to be animated by
spirits, the souls of departed Indians, and that their fruits,
therefore, cannot be eaten without danger until they have been
“ blessed ” by a sorcerer.

Instances exist which show that such ideas are not limited to
the Xingu Indians, but are commonly held by tribes where agri-
culture has attained a higher importance. The most important
of the garden crops in tropical South America is the manioc, and
among some tribes, at least, special manioc-feasts are celebrated,
founded on the idea of a spirit animating the plant. This may
be said, for instance, of the manioc-feast or okima of the Uitoto
Indians. In some details its character is obscure but the general
aim is to effect an abundant crop of maize. [39] The manioc-
feast among certain Ecuadorian Indians has the same object. I
have already mentioned the animistic ideas about trees and plants
held by the Jibaros and Canelos Indians of Eastern Ecuador.
I have also pointed out that these Indians go so far as to attribute
a sex to each kind of tree or plant. Big and hard species of trees
and plants with specially strong properties are regarded as
“ men **. On the other hand, most, although not all, of the
garden plants are regarded as “ women The most important
of the “ female ** plants are the manioc, the batata or sweet
potato (Convotmlus batatas), the carrot {Daucus carota), the bean,
the earth-nut, and the pumpkin, whereas the plantain and the
maize are the only garden plants regarded as “ men This
distinction in regard to sex in plants seems to be due to certain
associations of ideas suggested by their outward appearance or
properties, but it is difficult to follow the train of thought of the
savage in this respect.

The cultivation of plants looked upon as feminine naturally
falls to the lot of the women, whereas the cultivation of the
plantain and the maize, regarded as masculine, is one of men's
particular obligations. Elaborate ceremonies are observed at
sowing and planting, especially at the setting of the manioc sticks,
during which the women appeal for an abundant crop both to
the great Earth-mother Nungiii herself and to the individual
manioc-spirits {tsanimba wakani). A detailed account of these
ceremonies is out of place here. It is enough to state that one
of the greatest feasts of the Jibaros, the “ feast of the women ",
has reference particularly to the manioc and other garden plants.
The object is to secure a rich harvest. Taken as a whole, the

THE WORSHIP OF PLANTS 107

ideas and customs of the Jibaros relating to agriculture may at
least be said to be typical of the tribes in the Amazonian terri-
tory. [40] They throw an interesting light on the origin of the
division of labour in regard to agriculture.

In an equally clear manner the Indian conception of the corn-
spirit and other plant-spirits is seen in certain superstitious
practices of the ancient Peruvians. According to their idea, all
edible fruits and plants were animated by spirits who caused
their growth. The most important of these plants were the
maize, the quinoa {Quenopodium quinoa)^ the coca, and the
potato. Female sex was ascribed to these plants, and the divine
beings accordingly called the Maize-mother, the Quinoa-mother,
the Coca-mother, and the Potato-mother. Figures of these divine
mothers were made respectively of the ears of maize and the leaves
of the quinoa and coca plants; they were dressed in women’s
clothes and in a sense worshipped because they were thought to
stand in a mysterious relation to the different cereals and root
fruits they represented. The Maize-mother, for instance, in her
capacity of mother, was believed to have the power of producing
and giving birth to much maize. In the same way the Quinoa-,
Coca-, and Potato-mothers would abundantly produce quiboa,
coca, and potatoes. [41]

Very elaborate also were the ceremonies performed in ancient
Mexico in honour of the maize goddess Chicomecoatle. The
Mexican cult of the maize-spirit bears a great similarity to the
corresponding cult of the ancient Peruvians and need not
therefore be dealt with here.

Again, among the Malay tribes of East India the Rice-mother
plays an important role. The Malays are convinced that rice
has a soul very similar to the human soul. They therefore pay
the greatest reverence to this plant. They treat the flowering
rice with the same consideration as a pregnant woman. They
abstain from firing shots or making a noise in the fields for fear
of frightening the soul of the rice and thus causing it to mis-
carry, and produce no seeds. Both before sowing and while the
plant is growing, the Malay tries to propitiate the soul of the
rice by frequent offerings, so that the harvest may be abundant.
The natives also make sacrifices and direct prayers to the great
spirit of agriculture, Amei Avi, but the rice has a soul of its own
which must be propitiated. [42]

The Aryan Earth-mother in Europe is well known through

io8

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

the detailed researches of Mannhardt and J. G. Frazer. [43] In
Germany the corn used to be personified under the name of the
Corn-mother, but there are also ideas about a Rye-mother and a
Pea-mother. These are analogous to Demeter, the Barley-
mother or Corn-mother of the ancient Greeks. Among the
Teutons the belief in a spirit animating the growing corn and
making it fertile, gave rise to a number of peculiar agricultural
and harvest rites. In German countries these have survived
right up to our own day, although the ideas originally under-
lying them have been partly lost. It is interesting to note that,
in these agricultural rites, the idea of a personal corn-spirit and of
an impersonal power of fertilization, alternate with, or pass into
one another in such a way, that in many cases it is impossible
strictly to distinguish them. Obviously, however, the im-
personal “ power ”, a hypostasis, as it were, of the vegetative
power of the individual ears of corn, is a later idea founded on
the earlier belief in individual souls animating the corn. To
assume, as has been done, [44] that the “ power ” is the primary
notion and the personal spirit a secondaiy^ notion, implies that
the evolution of thought has been from the abstract to the con-
crete, which is contrary to primitive psychology. Re that as it
may, the vegetative “ power ” of the field, or the demon of the
vegetation, is supposed to be concentrated in the last sheaf or
ears, where it takes refuge in trying to escape the scythe of the
harvester. Then it frequently takes the shape of a human being
or of an animal, a buck, a goat, a cat, a hare or a horse. Since the
fleeing corn-demon is believed to be present particularly in the
last sheaf, it is supposed to be very dangerous to cut or tie it.
The person who does so will have to suffer some misfortune or
bad luck, he is exposed to the merciless fun of his comrades,
and so forth. [45]

It is seen, from my short survey, that plant worship is
fairly uniformly spread among the lower peoples and that,
although originally purely animistic in character, it shows
among certain more civilized peoples, forms which perhaps be-
long rather to the polytheistic stage in the evolution of religion.
The primitive plant-spirit becomes an anthropomorphic deity
of vegetation with a comparatively wide sphere of activity.

But before leaving this form of primitive religion, we still
have to say a few words about the interesting way the ideas of
the lower peoples about plant-spirits are applied to their magic.

THE WORSHIP OF PLANTS

109

Just as the magical power inherent in certain parts of the
animal body is due to the soul or vital power concentrated in
them, so we meet with a similar belief in regard to plants. In
the magical medicine of the lower peoples in general, plants are
far more prominent than animals. Those writers, however,
who have dealt with this class of ideas and customs have never
discovered the source of the mysterious power or tnana com-
monly ascribed by primitive peoples to the plants used in their
magical and medical art.

Among many tribes in different parts of the world intoxi-
cating and narcotic drinks prepared from certain fruits and
plants, play a most important part in the religious and social
life. Well known, for instance, is the national drink of the
Polynesians, kava, prepared from the root of the plant Piper
methysticum. The root is chewed and spat out in a gourd which
is subsequently filled with water. Again, the palm-wine of the
African negroes is prepared from the juice of the sprout or stem
of the cocoa-palm. Both these drinks are “ sacred ’’ and con-
sidered indispensable on certain important occasions. It is
stated of the kava, that in certain parts of Polynesia the cere-
monies at its preparation and distribution have developed into
a ritual so detailed and important that they amount to a real
sacrament. As far as I know, however, the ideas which the
Polynesians associate with their kava and the negroes with their
palm- wine have never been more closely investigated. [46]
On the other hand, I myself have studied in detail similar ideas
and customs among the South American Indians.

That the drinking-bouts of the Indians often have a cere-
monial character and a magical significance, has been pointed out
by K. T. Preuss with special reference to the peoples of Mexico,
notably the Tarahumara. Dr. Preuss is quite right in stating
that intoxicating liquors are drunk primarily with a view to in-
creasing the natural magical power (Zauberkraft) of the body. [47]
But when he assumes that this power has nothing to do with
spirits but must be explained according to pre-animistic
principles, I cannot agree with him. On the contrary, I think
the magic of the intoxicating and narcotic drinks provides an
excellent instance of a supernatural power or mana which is
clearly of animistic origin.

In the sub-tropical Gran Chaco, for instance, the Indians
brew intoxicating drinks from the algaroba-tree {Prosopis alba)

no PRIMITIVE RELIGION

and certain other fruits. Tliese trees are believed to be animated
by “ good spirits and it is the power of these spirits which is
present in the fermented drinks. The fermentation, which is
brought about everywhere in South America by masticating the
fruit and mixing it well with saliva, is a mysterious process to
the Indian mind and is hastened by various ceremonies, such as
the beating of drums and the shaking of rattles. By these, the
spirit is favourably influenced for the desired end. Moreover,
when the Indian is intoxicated he says that he has been possessed
by the “ good spirit ”, which will give him strength and the
power to resist every kind of evil influence. Hence every in-
cident in the life of the family and the community, birth and
death, marriage, warfare, and so on, is celebrated by a drinking-
bout. [48]

In tropical South America, the most important sacred beer is
brewed from the manioc root prepared in exactly the same way
as the algaroba-beer among the Chaco Indians, but of even
more importance from a religious point of view. Thus, too, the
patwari of the Guiana and the kaschiri of the Brazilian Indians,
two beverages indispensable at the religious feasts and especi-
ally at the death-feasts, are prepared from the manioc root.
Again, the general object of these drinking-bouts is to enhance
the natural magical power of the body on occasions when such
power is more necessary than others. Nowhere is this idea
seen more conspicuously than among the Jibaro Indians of
Eastern Ecuador. At their great victory-feast, celebrated on
the capture of an enemy’s head, every important ceremony ends
with the general drinking of a strong manioc-beer, while, at the
end of the whole feast, a species of manioc-wine, prepared with
special care, is consumed ceremonially by the warriors. They
believe that without the drinking of this sacred liquor, the
object of the feast would not be attained. [49]

That a person intoxicated by a fermented drink is thought to
enter into intimate relation with the spiritual world is a natural
primitive idea. Like all abnormal or unusual states of mind,
the very state of exaltation is explained by the savage according
to his ” possession ” theory. The fact that fermentation is
achieved by mixing the fruit with saliva, is also significant.
The saliva, which shares the natural magical power of the whole
body, is supposed to influence favourably the spirit active in
the drink.

THE WORSHIP OF PLANTS

HI

These statements about intoxicating drinks apply also to
narcotics in the strict sense of the word and to “medical”
plants. Narcotic drinks prepared from certain plants with
poisonous properties, and thus able to produce visions, hallu-
cinations, and a state of ecstasy, are used in tropical South
America and are particularly interesting from a religious point
of view.

Among these plants, tobacco holds pride of place. Long before
the white man arrived in the New World the tobacco plant
was cultivated in both continents and used by the Indians both
as a magical medicine and as a means of expelling evil spirits.
Only through European influence do some Indians of our own
days smoke tobacco for pleasure. The original ceremonial use
of this plant can still be studied among the Indians of the Upper
Amazonas at least. The Jibaros, for instance, fancy that the
tobacco spirit {tsangu wakarti) is a masculine being; only the
men, therefore, may cultivate the plant. But, once prepared, as
is so with most medicines of this kind, it can be administered to
women as well as men. Tobacco is taken mostly in liquid form,
the leaves being either boiled in water or chewed in the mouth
and mixed with saliva. When used at the great feasts, the
medicine is always prepared with saliva. This is thought to
enhance its magical effects. Sometimes big cigars are made of
the leaves and the person in whose honour the feast is held, gets
the smoke blown into his mouth by an old man. The Jibaros
use tobacco in this way at the “ tobacco-smoking feast ”, with
which a youth is initiated into manhood.

The tobacco medicine is given to women in liquid form,
notably at the feast called the “ tobacco-feast of the women ”,
held when a young girl is about to marry. Long before the
feast proper is held, at the time when the fields of manioc,
plantain, sweet potatoes, beans, etc., are being prepared for the
new household, the woman has to partake of the wonderful
medicine to promote her growth. At the feast it is ceremonially
administered to her in varjung doses by an old woman. The
general idea associated with the tobacco-feast, is to give to the
future housewife strength and ability for the various domestic
duties incumbent on the married Jibaro woman. The spirit of
tobacco will take entire possession of her and fill her with a
mysterious power, not only for the moment, but for many years
to come. This power will, automatically, as it were, be trans-

II2

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

ferred to all departments of her activity. Through her person
the spirit vnll exert a favourable influence on the crops, causing
the plantations to grow rapidly and bear fruits abundantly ; also
on the domestic animals, the swine and the fowls, confided to
her care, so that they become fat and increase in number. The
woman will also be able to serve her husband well and to
educate her children properly. All this is effected by the tobacco
or, more strictly speaking, by the spirit of the plant, which is
imbued with a mysterious influence through the ceremonies of
the feast.

Further, tobacco, among most tribes of the Amazonas,
is the special medicine of the professional medicine-men and
sorcerers. When a Jibaro wants to become a medicine-man he
has to fast strictly, but at the same time is obliged to take
tobacco-juice in great quantities. When about to cure a
patient he begins his treatment by draining a large dish of
tobacco-water, and the spirit of tobacco is invoked to assist
him. [50]

Among other magical medicines obtained from the plant
world two narcotics which play a prominent role in native
divination, call for special mention. One is prepared from the
vine Banisteria caapi, belonging to the family Malpighiacea,
The Jibaros call it natema, but in Ecuador it is best known
under its Quichua name ayahuasca. The plant is also found
at the River Uaup& and its tributaries in North-west Brazil,
at the cataracts of the Orinoco, as well as in the Amazonian
parts of Columbia. It is used everywhere by the natives in
much the same way, namely, for the purpose of divination.
The Brazilian Indians prepare the drink without boiling the
plant. A piece of the stem is beaten in a mortar with water.
When sufficiently steeped it is passed through a sieve which
separates the woody fibre. Enough water is then added to
the residue to make it drinkable. The Indians of Ecuador
boil it for one or more hours, adding as well juice of tobacco
and several other vegetable ingredients to enhance the narcotic
effects of the drink. Another narcotic used by the Indians in
these regions is prepared from the rind of the bush Datura
arborea, of the family Solanacece. It is best known under
its Quichua name huantuc. The rind is not boiled. The
essence is simply pressed out with the hands and taken by
sorcerers and warriors as a medicine, with a view to pro-

THE WORSHIP OF PLANTS 113

yoking a state of ecstasy and divinatory dreams. This
narcotic is even stronger than the one prepared from the
vine Banisteria.

Here one is particularly interested in the religious ideas con-
nected with these narcotics. The strange mental conditions
they provoke, including all sorts of visions and hallucinations,
are ascribed by the Indians to the demons animating the
plants. With these, when intoxicated, the Indians are supposed
to enter into intimate relation. The demons, moreover, prove
to be nothing but ancestral spirits or souls which in some way
have been transmitted to the plants. In narcotic sleep they
appear to the Indians in hideous forms, such as tigers, anacondas
or giant snakes, crocodiles, eagles, etc. They speak to the
dreamer with a human voice, give him advice, and reveal
future events. The Jibaros call these demons ariktamay the
“ Old Ones They are the ancestors of the Indians and
were once great warriors. Only that Jibaro man who has
seen “ the Old Ones ” in dreams, and been spoken to by them,
can hope to become a successful warrior. The medicine-men
and wizards seek especially the assistance of these demons,
because otherwise they will be unable to carry out their
functions of curing or sending disease by witchcraft. [51]

I include also among the magical “ medicines ” of the
Indians, the word “ medicine ”, of course, being used here in
a broad sense, the one used by the Indians of South America
for poisoning their arrows. The most famous of the arrow-
poisons is that known by its Macusi name curare or ourali^
specially common to Guiana, but used also in a somewhat
different form by the Indians of Western Amazonas. Certain
Strychnos species form perhaps its main ingredient, but it
also contains several other vegetable ingredients, all apparently
poisonous, but most of them still unknown to science. The
preparation of the poison is veiled in great mvstery and linked
up with certain superstitious practices which are much alike
all through South America. In Ecuador I myself was given
detailed information about the arrow-poison ideas of the
Indians.

In each of the plants from which the poison is prepared
there resides a spirit or demon to whom the plant owes its
poisonous properties. This demon it is who Mis the victim
when the poisoned arrow penetrates the body. In keeping
H

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

114

with this idea, the Quichua-speaking Canelos Indians call
arrow-poison supai hambi, “ the deviPs medicine hamhi
being the general name for a magical drug. When the cook,
a kind of sorcerer, has to prepare the poison, he retires to
the forest. Here he must stay, strictly fasting, for several days
and nights. The boiling can take place only at night, and
while in process the cook sings incantations to the demon of
the plants. His whole performance is really a conjuration by
which he subdues the demon and “ develops ” its power for
his own purposes. The poisonous gases rising from the
boiling pot are regarded as an expression of the anger of the
conquered demon, and when, after days of fasting, the cook
returns from the forest pale and w^eak, his condition is attributed
to his fight with the superhuman powers. [52]

The arrow-poison used by the natives of Borneo bears
many resemblances to the famous curare-poison of the South
American Indians. In Borneo the poison is also obtained
from the vegetable kingdom; it is prepared by tapping the
trunk of certain trees, of which the Strychnos-Xxtt is probably
the most important. There is little doubt either that the
arrow-poison of the Malays is closely associated with their
belief in spirits, as it is also with the Indians of South America.
As the Swedish explorer E. Mjoberg says, “ they believe that
everything in nature, even the dangerous poisoned arrows,
have a soul which manifests itself in mysterious effects.” [53]

It looks as if the same principle applies to all the magical
medicines of the lower peoples, namely, that the supernatural
power or mana which the Indians assume in medical plants
is of animistic origin: it proceeds from the “soul” which
governs the plant’s life and growth.

The same facts I have established, with special reference to
certain tribes of Western Amazonas, have been pointed out,
for example, by the German explorer Koch-Griinberg in
relation to the Indians of Guiana. The medicine-men of the
Caraibe and Arawak tribes studied by Koch-Griinberg often
avail themselves of certain medical plants when curing disease.
The spirits of these plants appear as the assistants of the
medicine-men, the magical power inherent in the plants being,
in a certain sense, their vivifying element or soul. One of
the most important is tobacco, but the same holds true of
several other lianas, bushes, and trees of the forest used by

THE WORSHIP OF PLANTS 115

the medicine-men for medical purposes. In some cases the
supernatural power acting in these plants seems to be con-
ceived as an impersonal force. In other cases, and I think
as a rule, it is conceived as a personal spirit, identical with the
plant soul itself. [54] Thus, precisely the same principles we
found to apply to certain medicines obtained from the animal
world mentioned in the last chapter apply also to the numerous
plant medicines used by primitive peoples.

We still have to examine the w’orship of inanimate objects
of nature and the system of magical ideas connected with
them.

CHAPTER VII

THE WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE

T ogether with the worship of animals and plants, the
worship of sticks and stones and other inanimate objects
has always been regarded as a special characteristic of the
religious state of the “ heathen However naive this form
of religion may be, we have to establish the fact that historically
it has not been limited to primitive or uncivilized peoples,
but has appeared, in some of its most typical forms, even in
the higher cultures. Thus it was by no means foreign to the
civilized peoples of classical antiquity, while in modern
folklore the worship of inanimate objects may still be studied
as a survival from a time when a scientific conception of nature
did not exist.

First of all, one is again confronted here with the question
as to what are the ideas on which the worship of inanimate
objects of nature is founded. Is a stick or a stone worshipped
simply because, in an “ animatistic ” sense, life, consciousness,
and will are ascribed to it, or is it because it is looked upon as
the seat of a spirit? As far as its primary form is concerned, [i]
Dr. Marett gives the former explanation, whereas the animistic
interpretation originates from Tylor. I think modem ethno-
logical research has shown that Tylor’s explanation is, on the
whole, correct. No doubt Dr. Marett is right in pointing
out that, in order to be “ deified ”, an object must appear
mysterious in some way to the savage, attract his attention,
appeal to his supernatural tendencies through its shape, position,
size, or colour, or through some remarkable event with which
it is associated.

But on closer investigation we generally find, in addition to
this feeling, very concrete ideas at the bottom of the cult
surrounding the object. Only by basing his opinion on in-
complete observations of passing travellers or on the inaccurate
statements of ethnographers would Dr. Marett have traced,
in the stone-worship of present-day uncultured peoples, a

116

WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE

117

pre-animistic stage which in certain cases has been succeeded
by an animistic. Consequently, such objects^as a solitary pillar
of rock, a crumbled volcanic boulder, a meteorite, a pebble
of unusual shape, a piece of shining quartz, are not worshipped
because, to the savage imagination, as Dr. Marett puts it, they
are “ invested by the vague but dreadful attributes of Powers.”
As a rule, a concrete idea is to be found behind the religious
veneration shown them. Stone pillars, for instance, are men
transformed into stone, a world- wide belief. The soul of a
sorcerer has migrated into that particular rock or volcano, or
the stone is worshipped because it is regarded as the seat of a
spirit or is associated in some way with a spirit. Codrington
mentions instances of this kind from Melanesia. Just as,
according to him, the magical power, mana^ always proceeds
either from a living man or from the soul or spirit of a dead
man, so “ a stone is found to have supernatural power because
a spirit has associated itself with it.” [2]

Innumerable instances of the same kind could be mentioned
from South America, where I made extensive inquiries on
this point. In the magical practices of the Jibaros, when
they sow their fields, for instance, certain small stones of
peculiar shape and brown colour play an important part.
The women, who do most of the agricultural work, allege to
have received these mysterious stones in a dream from the
Earth-mother herself, the assistance of whom they never fail
to invoke in agriculture. In the stones there is something of
the Earth-mother’s soul, that soul which also animates plants,
and accounts for the wonderful power they possess. The
stone of the Earth-mother will promote the growth of the
plants and have a beneficial influence on women’s domestic
work. [3] The same ideas underlie the worship of “ lightning-
stones ”, meteorites, stone axes, and other stone implements
found in the earth, and about which the Indians of South
America hold the same superstitious ideas as other lower
peoples. By “ lightning-stones ” the Jibaros mean small
round black stones said to have been hurled down from heaven
by a flash of lightning, or, more strictly speaking, by those
departed Jibaro warriors whose spirits are believed to be
active in thunder and lightning. Their supernatural power
is due to their connection with these spirits. Since they
proceed from dead warriors, they are believed especially to

ii8

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

bring success in war. Besides which, when kept for a long
time, they will help promote the growth of the domestic swine
and the fowls. [4]

Just as objects w'hich descend from the heavens are supposed
to proceed from spirits and are therefore charged with super-
natural power, so the same belief is held of stone-axes and
other ancient objects of stone or clay, found in the earth.
The Indians ascribe them to their ancestors or to an earlier
race of men who once inhabited that place and are jealously
guarding their property. The Indians, therefore, consider it
very dangerous to dig in old ruins or burial-places. On the
other hand, all objects found in such places are believed
to possess a wonderful supernatural power which can be
used for many different purposes. With their aid sickness
can be cured; they bring luck in hunting, fishing, and so
forth. [5]

An object thus credited with mysterious power is generally
called a fetish, a word which plays an important role in the
modem science of religion. The word itself is of Portuguese
origin (Jeitico, from Latin facticius—facere = to do). Originally,
the Roman Catholics in Portugal seem to have used it of certain
amulets and relics of saints believed to bring luck and to
furnish protection against evil. The term received a broader
application when it began to be used of certain seemingly
insignificant objects charged with supernatural power, stones,
pieces of bone, etc., which were the objects of a kind of wor-
ship among the negroes of West Africa. The term is supposed
to have been introduced into the science of religion by de
Brosses, the French historian and President of Parliament.
In his work Du Culte des dieux fetiches, he used the word to
denote a primitive stage of religion particularly characteristic
of the negroes. In one of his works Max Muller in fact
says that, before 1660, the word is not met with an3rwhere.
The truth seems to be, however, that in early travel books
the word " fetish ” had been used long before 1660, although
de Brosses was the first to introduce it to European science. [6]
An English soldier by the name Andrew Battel, who travelled
in West Africa in the sixteenth century, mentions in his
memoirs, for instance, that the natives in the region of Congo
worshipped a “ fetish ” called Maramba, without, however,
giving f^urther information about it. [7] One of the first

WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE 119

descriptions of fetish-worship is given by a Dutch merchant-
man named Marees in a French work of 1605, in which even
pictures of fetishes are shown. [8] In the work of a German
writer, O. Dapper, published in 1670, the word “ fetish ” is
often referred to. He says that the negroes have their “ fetishes
or idols made of wood or green plants which they worship
and consult.’* [9] In the eighteenth century we have notably
the works of Bosman and the less known work of the French
missionary Loyer. Both point out that it is very difficult to
state the real significance of negro fetishes. [10] As a rule,
the word was used earlier in a more general sense, to denote a
heathen “idol worship” specially peculiar to negroes, [ii]
whereas modem historians of religion have begun to give it a
more limited application, meaning thereby a special primitive
form of religion closely related to what is now called animism.

Of earlier works dealing with fetishism, that of de Brosses
is almost the only one more generally known. It was probably
from him that Comte borrowed the name when, in his Philosophie
positive^ he calls the earliest stage in religious evolution of
which we have knowledge, “ fetishism Dr. Haddon, in
describing this form of religion in his Magic and Fetishisniy
rightly emphasizes the fact that the word has been much
misused. In paying attention to the outward tangible aspect
of fetishism, rather than to its spiritual interpretation, many
ethnologists and theoretical scholars have defined fetishism
simply as the worship of inanimate objects for themselves
alone. Fetishism, accordingly, has been said to differ from an
idol in that it is worshipped for its own sake and not as the
symbol, image, or occasional residence of a deity. [12] This
conception of fetishism involves, however, a complete mis-
understanding, as is shown by an authority like Ellis. “ Every
native with whom I have conversed on the subject ”, he says,
“ has laughed at the possibility of its being supposed that he
could worship or offer sacrifice to some such object as a stone,
which of itself it would be perfectly obvious to his senses was
a stone only and nothing more.” [13] For his own part,
Dr. Haddon states that all cases of fetishism, when examined,
show that worship is rendered to an intangible power or spirit
incorporated in some visible form. Any definition which
does not take into account the spiritual force behind the material
object is seen to be incomplete and superficial. [14] Tliis

120 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

observation of Dr. Haddon’s, I think, holds true in regard to
the animism of the lower peoples in general.

According to Dr. Haddon’s definition of fetishism, any
object evidently may become a fetish provided it can attract
the attention of the savage in some way. The most essential
characteristic of the fetish is that it should possess mysterious
power, again the result of its being occasionally or permanently
the abode of a spiritual being. A strange spirit may be centred
in the fetish or work through it from outside. The connection,
therefore, between the material object and the spirit can be an
entirely loose one. [15]

The obvious consequence is that, in many cases, no sharp
line of demarcation can be drawn between animism and
fetishism. Tylor defines fetishism as a special form of animism
and includes it in the worship of sticks and stones; to him it
is “ the doctrine of spirits embodied in, or conveying influence
through, certain material objects.” He points out that it then
passes by an imperceptible gradation into idolatry. Taking
into consideration the fact that Tylor himself and most of
his epigones overlooked the intimate relation between animism
and magic, we are forced still more to the conclusion that the
distinction between the fetish and objects looked upon in a
more general sense as “ animate ” is in fact verj’ subtle if not
wholly non-existent. Upon the whole, we may agree with
Dr. Haddon when he sees this difference that “ animism sees
all things animated by spirits ”, while “ fetishism sees a spirit
incorporated in an individual object.” The same writer goes
on to state that “ the spirit which is believed to occupy the
fetish is a different conception from the spirit of the animistic
theory; it is not the soul or vital power belonging to the
object, and inherent in it, from which the virtue is derived, but
a spirit or power attracted to and incorporated in it, while
separable from it.” [16] However this may be, it is not
always possible to distinguish clearly between the two con-
ceptions.

West Africa is the true home of the fetish. Everywhere,
even to-day, these mysterious objects are met with in the
villages. Many travellers have described them, but the
following quotation from the Swedish missionary Hammar
is typical. ‘‘ When one visits the villages and looks at the
houses and their movables,” he writes, “ the attention is at

WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE 121

once drawn to a peculiar bundle which is hanging at the
projecting part of the roofing, at the gable-end or the long-
side, and asking what it is one receives the answer that it is
nkisi. This bundle is carried up by a net-work which has the
form of a netted bag, and is generally covered by one or more
cat’s or monkey’s skins. It contains ail sorts of things, for
instance chalk, glimmer, salt, powder, pepper, hair, feathers,
claws, teeth, seeds, metal rings, mountain crystals, etc. It is
coated with palm-oil and red ochre, and has further appendages
of rattles, made of gourds or other fruits, containing hard
seeds. The minkisi (plur.), however, vary much and may also
consist of a gourd, a bent branch of a tree, a bundle of rings
and seeds, a snail’s shell, etc.” Our informant adds that, in
order to enter into a nhisi, things must be associated with
remarkable incidents or be taken from wild and strong animals,
from famous persons, and so forth. [17]

There can be no doubt as to the animistic origin of the
things contained in such a fetish. It must be further em-
phasized that a “ fetishism ” of the kind described here is
by no means limited to West Africa, but is almost universal
in lower cultures. The nkisi of the Congo negroes seems to
be an almost direct equivalent of the magical “ medicines ”
and fetishes of the North American Indians, which are composed
partly of the same things. Similar medicines, fetishes, amulets,
or whatever one likes to call them, are also extremely common
among the Indians of South America. On the whole, this
form of fetishism provides an interesting instance of what
Bastian called an Elementargedanke, it being useless trying to
explain it by the principle of cultural diffusion.

As for stone worship in the proper sense of the word, stones
are the objects of religious reverence among many peoples
because they are looked upon as men transformed into this
medium. In some cases these are well-known historical
personages. Such ideas are met with, for instance, among
Finno-Ugrian peoples like the Ostyaks, among the Samoyedes,
and also among the Hindus and other Indian peoples. Those
groups of stones 'in an erect position, worshipped by the
inhabitants in many places in India, are generally supposed
to embody some definite god and belong frequently to a religious
system with specialized polytheistic divinities. Among the
modem Hindus the stone fetishes are therefore a kind of

122 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

Sondergotter with definite spheres of activity. Thus Siva is
worshipped in the form of a stone or an effigy of clay, and is
even propitiated with sanguinary rites.

In ancient Peru stone worship was very prominent, forming
part and parcel of a polytheistic religion. Many of the im-
portant objects or places of worship called huacas were stones
or rocks. The current idea about ffiese stone-fetishes was that
they were men — generally members of the Inca family — who
had been changed into stone. The huaca Huanacauri, for
instance, a hill in the neighbourhood of Cuzco, was one of the
most important cult centres in the whole Inca empire. The
fetish on this hill was simply an un wrought stone, into which,
according to a legend, a brother of the first Inca had been
changed. It was a fetish of first rank and was believed to
bring luck in war. When the Inca undertook a warlike ex-
pedition he always brought this fetish with him. Its super-
natural power was due to the supposed fact that it harboured
the spirit of a mighty Inca ruler. [i8]

If sticks and stones are the objects of religious worship
because they are regarded as the abodes of departed souls, it
is easy to understand why the stone, at a somewhat higher
state of culture, is frequently moulded intentionally into a
certain human likeness. Fetishism thus soon passes into the
worship of images or effigies, or what missionaries generally
call “ worship of idols.” At this stage art enters the service
of religion, very imperfectly, of course, at the beginning.

The worship of spirits or gods in the shape of images occurs
among somewhat higher peoples living in a natural state,
notably in Polynesia, but as well in Africa, North America, and
so forth. The Incas of Peru, who were polytheists, represented
their three highest gods, the Creator, the Sun, Thunder and
Lightning, in the form of idols of gold with human shape.
For the great feasts, these idols were t^en out from the temples
and set up in the market-place of Cuzco, where they were
honoured with sanguinary rites, sometimes even human
sacrifices. At the same time they were a kind of fetish charged
with supernatural power: the ancestral spirits who resided
in the sky, in the sun, and in the thunder and lightning were
believed, in the most real sense of the word, to be present in
these idols or statues. [19]

Numerous instances of the same kind may be quoted from

WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE 123

other parts of the world. Thus the seita of the Lapps belong
to the same category of animated objects, although somewhat
more primitive in character. The word is of Scandinavian
origin, being derived from seid, a kind of magic exercised
by the female Scandinavian shamans, the volva. In the
religion of the Lapps the seita signify rude statues or idols
of stone or wood, which were at one time erected on special
sacred places, notably on mountains, and were the objects of
a cult.

Like the huaca of the Incas, the seita of the Lapps were
closely connected with the cult of the dead. The general belief
was diat the seita were men transformed into stone. It was
quite natural that the rrito-spirits should be associated with
the spirits of the dead — called by the Lapps the ratw-people —
since the spirits of the departed were believed to inhabit the
mountains where the seita were placed. Incorporating thus
the spirits of the dead, they were looked upon as the guardian
spirits of particular families. They were honoured with
valuable sacrifices, and prayers were addressed to them. [20]

The primitive conception that a spirit or god really has his
abode in the idol and acts through it, tends, of course, to dis-
appear at higher stages of culture. It is replaced by the idea
that the idol is only an external symbol of the deity, without
being in some intrinsic way associated with him. With what
conservatism an undeveloped religious consciousness clings
to the original idea, we see from the important part played by
the worship of images in higher religion, even Christianity.

The worship of sticks and stones seems to have been a
common phenomenon among many peoples of archaic culture.
We meet it among Semitic peoples, to whom meteorites were
particularly sacred because the deity was believed to live in
them. These sacred stones were erected close to the altar and
served, perhaps originally, as altars. To cult stones of this
description belonged, for instance, the “ animate stones ” or
battyUoi {bethel =“ iiit god’s house”) of the Canaanites
mentioned by Philo, as well as the famous black stone in the
old sanctuary of the Arabs, kaaba in Mekka. The worship
of the latter, originally an ordinary fetish, was adopted by the
religion when reformed by Mahomet and was closely associated
with the cult of Allah. Among the classical Greeks, the worship
of rough stones seems to have flourished throughout the whole

124 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

of antiquity. The Greek geographer Pausanias, who travelled
in Greece in the second century A.D., found numerous traces
of this old cult. He states expressly that “ in ancient times
all the Greeks worshipped unwrought stones instead of images.”
Even rough sticks and wooden pillars were the objects of
worship, and in part were given human form. [21]

Curious it is to find that, in some respects, the early Greeks
did not, any more than uncivilized peoples of our own days,
make a sharp distinction between animate and inanimate
objects. They treated lifeless things as if endowed with life,
consciousness, and even will. Pausanias writes that “ lifeless
things are said to have inflicted of their own accord a righteous
punishment on men ”, and gives instances. [22] It is also
well known that, at Athens, there was a special tribunal for
the purpose of punishing inanimate objects which had accident-
ally been the cause of injury or death. [23] With such a view
prevailing, we can understand how the worship of inanimate
things like sticks, stones, rocks, mountains, caves, etc., flourished
throughout antiquity.

Here the worship of sacred cairns may be touched upon.
In many parts of the world, for instance in Africa, India, the
South Sea Islands, and ancient Peru, it w'as the custom
for natives to accumulate heaps of stones at certain places,
such as roads in the mountain passes, the tops of high hills,
cross- ways, etc., and to make them the objects of a certain
cult.

As to the true nature of this cult, however, there has been
a diversity of opinion. In ancient Peru these sacred heaps
of stone were called apachita^ and were venerated almost as
highly as the places called huaca. From a close examination
it seems apparent to me that the ” cult ” of sacred cairns is
prompted everywhere by the desire to avert evils which might
arise from spirits inhabiting the places where they are erected.
In regard also to the Peruvian apachitas^ the information
supplied by ancient chroniclers, like the Father Arriga and
Cobo, and by modern ethnologists is enough to establish their
true nature. In ancient Peru these cairns were found all along
the roads or tracks, especially in the higher and little-inhabited
parts. Every Indian who passed them added a stone. If he
had his quid of coca in his mouth he took it out and threw it
against the cairn, muttering a prayer or conjuration. The

WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE 125

etymology of the word apachita shows that they were places
which “ carried away ” something. To this very day the
Ecuadorian and Peruvian mountain Indians commonly believe
that the tiredness and exhaustion which overtakes them when
climbing the high cordilleras with their heavy burdens is
caused by a demon who lives on the top of the hill. It is
natural, therefore, when reaching the top to try and keep off the
evil demon by throwing stones at the place where he is believed
to have his seat. In this way the apachitas became places
which “ carried away ” the fatigue of the travelling Indian. [24]
The stone is not only a natural weapon but, on account of
its hardness, is believed to possess supernatural power. This
too seems to be the real nature of the sacred heaps of stone
which are the object of superstitious practices among the
Bantu tribes, Bushmen, and Hottentots of South Africa.
Dudley Kidd states that evil spirits or angry ancestral spirits
are evidently supposed to haunt such spots. The fact that
Kafirs pray at such heaps of stones would suggest some
appeasing of ancestral spirits. Or the natives may seek to
drive away evil spirits by the throwing of a stone, this being
merely one of the many ways in which savages transfer evil
from themselves to other things. [25] At bottom a similar
idea underlies the “ worship ” of cairns among the half-
civilized natives of Morocco. Dr. Westermarck states that
one exceedingly common class of cairns in Morocco derive
their baraka or holiness from their connection with a saint.
Sometimes a cairn marks the place where a holy man is said
to have been buried, or to have rested or camped. [26]

Another important form of nature worship is the worship
of mountains and, in certain parts of the world, of volcanoes.
As a matter of fact, high mountains with their steep ridges,
deep chasms, and mysterious caves are most likely of all to
attract the attention of primitive people, and still more the
fire-spitting volcanoes. From all corners of the globe come
statements of the worship of mountains, and everywhere, on
the whole, there seem to be the same basic principles. No-
where have “ sacred ** mountains been more common than
in India. To this day the natives look upon mysterious
mountains and hills as the seats of malevolent spirits.

The most detailed accounts, however, come from the
mountain regions of Central and South America. In the

126 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

virgin forests east of the Andes in Ecuador and Peru, for
example, the Indians regard all high hills and cordilleras with
special awe. These, they believe, are the seats of the spirits
of their dead medicine-men. When the Jibaro Indians wander
on hills and mountains, especially those they have not visited
before, they keep silent and do not use their guns in case the
demon of the hill should get angry. If noises are heard in the
interior of the mountain in passing, they say that it is the
iguanchi (a departed medicine-man) who is beating his drum
or expressing displeasure at having been disturbed. The big
signal drum of the Jibaros is even said to be an imitation of
the giant drum of the iguanchi living in the hills. Being spirits
of dead medicine-men and sorcerers, the demons of the hills
and mountains are also believed to send disease. Hence the
“ hill demons ” are often invoked by the Jibaro medicine-men
when curing their patients. Most feared of all are the snow-
clad mountains and volcanoes, because their spirits are said
to send chills and catarrhs and other diseases. All the greatest
volcanoes in South America, Chimborazo and Cotopaxi in
Ecuador, Illimani in Bolivia, and Aconcagua in Chile, have
been worshipped by the natives for this reason, sometimes
even with human sacrifices. Everywhtvt in South America the
fundamental idea underlying the worship of mountains was
the same, namely, that mountains are inhabited by spirits
who are by nature the souls of departed Indians, notably those
of medicine-men. [27]

Nowhere were mountains more eagerly worshipped than in
ancient Mexico. One of the great mystery-feasts of the Aztecs
was the “ mountain-feast celebrated annually, and at the
same time was connected with the worship of the rain-god
Tlaloc, with snake-worship and so forth. At this feast, among
other things, human sacrifices and a ceremony of ‘‘ eating
the god ” took place. From a paste of amaranth seeds,
effigies of the mountain were made. On a certain day these
effigies were ceremonially cut into pieces, the latter being
divided between the different families and then consumed. [28]
The details of this mystery-feast do not concern us here. It
is enough to state the main idea underlying it, namely, that
the mountains were inhabited by spirits of the departed who
were believed, among other things, to send rain.

The same ideas were prevalent among the Scandinavian

WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE 127

and Finnish Lapps also. Among their most important divinities
was the sacred mountains ”, passe-vare. The spirits of the
departed Lapps were believed to take up their abode in the
mountains. The Lapps were perfectly acquainted with the
“ mountain-people ” — generally called satvo-ptoplt — because
they used occasionally to visit their departed relatives, drinking
and feasting with them. The satvo-ptople were the guardian
spirits of the living. [29] As I have pointed out, there was a
close relationship between this mountain worship of the Lapps
and their worship.

The worship of caves, common in the lower cultures, is
closely connected with the worship of mountains. The belief,
which seems to be the rule, that the mysterious spirits which
haunt gloomy caves are those of departed men, is easy to
understand when we realize that caves served at one time
as human dwellings, and that the dead were frequently buried
in them.

Caves were the objects of worship not only among such peoples
as the Indians of South America and certain primitive tribes
of India, but also among peoples of culture like the Greeks.
The Indians enter subterranean caves only with hesitation and
dread, because they imagine that these dark and mysterious
places are haunted by the spirits of the dead. Owls and other
nocturnal birds they meet there are generally regarded as
reincarnations of the dead. [30] In ancient Greece sacred
caves, believed to be inhabited by nymphs and other super-
natural beings, were quite numerous. The neoplatonic
philosopher Porphyry even expresses the opinion that in early
times the ancients used to consecrate caves to their gods before
even they had discovered how to build them temples. The
religious rites associated, for instance, with the subterranean
chasm at Delphi, the mephitic gases of which were supposed
to fill the prophesying priestess with a divine spirit, were in
fact founded on very primitive ideas. [31]

As to other spirits or divinities of the earth, we still have
to deal with the spiritual beings which inhabit water, those
beings who people the sea, lakes, streams, rivers, and wells.
There is no doubt that the primitive belief which endows
water with life, regarding it even as a “ divine ” element, is
much easier to understand from our point of view than, for
instance, the worship of a stone. In fact, there is nothing

128

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

more likely to give an undeveloped mind the idea of life, will,
and power than the restless sea with its constant undulatory
motion, sometimes growing into a furious gale, its regular
tides, and so forth. Even civilized man, in speaking of the
“ fury of the storm ”, shows a tendency to personify the natural
power of the sea; how much more, therefore, the uncultured
savage. In regard, however, to the worship of water we meet
with two notions in the lower culture which ought, to a certain
extent, to be kept apart. On the one hand there is a direct
worship of water as such, that is to say, as a vaguely personified
element ; on the other, the worship of a real spirit of the water.
Pre-animists, of course, consider the first notion as the primary
one, but close inquiries seem to prove rather that the reverse
has been the case.

In regard to the Finno-Ugrian peoples, whose ideas have been
closely investigated. Gastrin was still of the opinion that water
had been worshipped by them originally in its immediate
sensuous form ”, simply as a material element. He assumed
this to be true of most Finno-Ugrian tribes even to-day. [32]
This assertion of Castren’s, however, seems to have as little
validity as a similar statement of his about their stone- worship.
At any rate. Dr. Holmberg’s researches on this point have
resulted in showing that, among those peoples who have best
preserved the original ideas, namely, the Lapps, the peoples
of the river Ob in Siberia, the Ostyaks and the Vogules, water
has been worshipped under the form of an individual local
spirit, and not as water. The latter idea is frequently connected
with the idea of an impersonal magical power inherent in the
water, but this seems to appear later and is only encountered
among more advanced tribes, influenced from without, such
as the Votyaks, the Tsheremisses, the proper Finns, etc. The
Finns used to address in poetic terms the water of the lakes
and rivers, using the apellation the “ Mother of the water ”
{veden-emd)^ or some such pleasing epithet. In the same way,
the magical spell-formula for the “ power of the w^ater ” was
used for the cure of sickness. [33]

Among other things, these conclusions agree perfectly with
the result I arrived at in my own particular field of research.
South America. Besides which, they confirm the hypothesis
I have set forth before, namely, that, in the evolution of
religious thought, the impersonal magical ” power ”, as found

WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE

129

among certain higher peoples, represents a secondary notion in
relation to the purely animistic idea of a spirit.

When the sea, lakes, rivers, wells, etc., are looked upon as
animated by spiritual beings, this is consequently no doubt a
“ primitive idea. Another question concerns, of course, the
nature of the souls or spirits believed to inhabit the water. In
this respect one must observe that there is little clear evidence
as to the belief in water possessing a special soul of its own.
It is doubtful, in fact, whether the water-demons form a special
category among the nature-spirits of the lower peoples. Those
spirits or demons who inhabit seas, lakes, rivers, and wells are
therefore essentially the same as those in mountains, rocks,
caves, the forest, and so forth.

As to the water-spirits of the Finno-Ugrian peoples, it has
been shown that most of them are by nature simply souls of
departed men, and that their worship is closely related to the
worship of the dead. Thus all tribes of the Finno-Ugrian stock
believe that the souls or spirits of those drowned in a lake or
river have become local water-divinities haunting the scene
of the accident. [34] This belief is found in many parts of the
world. The water-spirits of the Indians, for instance, frequently
belong to this species. If an Indian loses his life in a rapid
river or a cataract, his soul is changed into a demon who haunts
that spot. According to the belief of the Jibaro Indians, the
spirits of their forefathers inhabit the small waterfalls in the
cordilleras where they are used to taking their ritual baths.
The water, therefore, in these falls has magical power which
fills the Indian bathing there. The natives think that the
enormously deep and ice-cold lagoons in the Andes are haunted
by the souls of malevolent sorcerers who send disease. [35]
It is natural that these spirits, especially the spirits of people
drowned in the lake or river, should be regarded as malevolent
and dangerous beings.

But there is also another quite contrary idea held about
water in many lakes, streams, rivers, and wells, namely, that
it has supernatural virtue and highly beneficial effects. In the
worship of water, as is seen, for instance, among Finnish
peoples, the idea is often demonstrated that water not only
has beneficial effects on agriculture, but also promotes the
fecundity of women and of animals. Hence among the
Votyaks and the Esthonians the ceremonial sprinkling with

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

130

water was always a customary marriage rite. On the third
day, among the former, both bride and bridegroom were
taken down to the river, where they had to “ step into the
water.” Also on the morning following the wedding, they
had to sprinkle each other with water which was brought
by the women with certain ceremonies. [36] Whether the
sprinkling with w^ater in this case was a purification ceremony,
or was due to its supposed fertilizing effects, is not clearly
indicated. That magically purifying effects are commonly
attributed to water, is well known, but its “ power ” in many
cases, at least, is just as obviously due to the spirit which is
regarded as its soul or essence.

In the same way, for instance, the Bantu tribes of South
Africa believe in river spirits which are propitiated with animal
sacrifices or other offerings. But these water-deities are
ancestral spirits living in the river. “ It is very doubtful,”
says Dudley Kidd, “ whether the natives have any fully-formed
conception pf what we call a river-spirit; it seems more prob-
able that they imagined some ancestral spirit to be living in
the river, or that some fabulous animal had its home in the
water.” [37]

From many other parts of the world comes information about
the same kind of primitive worship of water, although one is
not always clear as to the nature of the sacredness ” ascribed
to lakes, rivers, and so on. To the same category belongs the
water-worship of Aryan peoples. To the modem Hindu the
Ganges is only the most important and best known of their
many sacred rivers. Among the ancient Greeks the worship
of rivers was very prominent. [38] There is no doubt that
it had a purely animistic foundation, as also did the Roman
worship of the Tiber. We know that the sacerdotal office
of the pontifices among the Romans probably originated in
the necessity of performing certain rites in honour of the
Tiber, whose anger was provoked every time its current was
traversed by bridges. [39] One may infer that the Greeks
held similar ideas from the important part that the river-gods
play among the motley crowd of divinities who meet us in the
Homeric songs. Similarly, one of the benevolent pieces of
advice Hesiod gives his hearers in his Works and Days is never
to cross a stream before washing one’s hands, praying, and
looking earnestly at the stream. [40] That Hesiod’s injunctions

WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE

*31

were observed throughout the whole of antiquity, may be
inferred from the knowledge we have of the many instances
of worship given to rivers and streams. Valuable sacrifices of
horses, bulls, etc., were sometimes offered to the river-gods.
The river-worship of the Greeks was no doubt a survival from
early times in the history of the Aryan race. [41]

In many cases the “ water-spirits ” are merely dangerous
animals living in rivers and other waters, such as crocodiles,
water-snakes, fishes, etc. One of the most dreaded water-
demons in the Amazon region in South America is the great
anaconda or water-serpent {Eunectes murinus), called yacumama,
“ the Water-mother ”, by the Indians. Even this demon is
believed to be an evil sorcerer who, after death, takes the
shape of this monster. Many accidents which happen on the
river during canoeing are attributed by the Indians to this
powerful water-demon. [42]

The spirits of springs are often worshipped as powers pro-
moting fertility, an idea which at a higher stage — i^. where
agriculture has become the mainstay of a people — is coimected
with water-spirits in general. The idea about the fertilizing
effects of springs was particularly prominent in ancient Peru,
where the worship of springs was closely associated with the
worship of the sea. As a “ mother of the waters ” the sea
was looked upon specially as a mother of springs. In fact,
springs were called “ the daughters of the sea ”, and when
directing sacrifices and prayers to them the Peruvians first
addressed Viracocha, the Creator, who among other things was
connected with the sea. It is easy to understand that in arid
regions like Western Peru, where rain is scarce and in some
parts non-existent for a whole year, permanently flowing waters
should have an enormous importance for the irrigation of the
soil. Only thus can the fervent worship of springs in ancient
Peru be satisfactorily explained. [43] On the other hand, in
Europe and elsewhere, there are also instances of the springs
being worshipped as harmful divinities who send certain kinds
of disease. In Esthonia, for instance, we meet with the idea
that springs may send a certain disease of the skin, due probably
to their supposed connection with mysterious underground
spirits. This belief is Aryan in origin and is found also in
many parts of Germany. [44]

The springs are honoured, partly with bloodless offerings.

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

132

partiy with real sacrifices. Later on we shall see that these
rites are essentially magical in nature and have for their object
the augmenting of the power of springs to spread fertility.

But in other respects also, springs and streams played an
important part in the magical practices of uncivilized peoples.
To these I have already drawn attention. Flowing water
possesses supernatural power, mam. It washes away the
dangerous pollution caused by evil and impure spirits, and if,
among some peoples, certain springs are believed to cause
sickness, there are others on the contrary, who ascribe to them
wonderful curative effects. The classical instance of a miracu-
lous spring is the pond Bethesda mentioned in the New
Testament, w^hich never failed to cure those who stepped into
its healing water. [45] Robertson Smith has established the
fact that, on the whole, the worship of sacred waters was
exceedingly common among Semitic peoples. But the worship
of springs is also prominent among Aryan peoples. The
sacred springs found, for instance, in distant places in Sweden
and among the Swedish population in Finland, may be men-
tioned as evidence to this effect. Small coins are frequently
offered to them, and in other cases, pins and other pointed
objects. One must evidently explain the latter custom as an
attempt to ward off harmful influences arising from the
springs. [46]

Among more civilized peoples local water-spirits are gradually
developed into special kinds of Sondergotter ^ whose sphere of
activity is strictly defined, and lastly into polytheistic gods.
To the latter belong many of the river-deities we find in the
Homeric songs, although their animistic origin is obvious.
The Scandinavian ndcken is also a half-polytheistic anthropo-
morphic deity present also among the Esthonians and Finns.
He is a fairy of the water, haunting lakes, streams, and springs,
and is always regarded as a malevolent being attacking, for
instance, those who bathe in the river. [47] The Ahti of the
Finns is a purely polytheistic being, a powerful water- and sea-
god. Among other important polytheistic divinities of the
water and sea is the Peruvian Mamacocha. As a personification
of the endless ocean she was “ the mother of all waters
The Babylonian sea-god Ea had the same character. In his
capacity as lord of the deep waters and subterranean springs,
he w^as at the same time worshipped as a principle of the

WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE

133

fertility of the soil, even as the original source of life. [48]
More indefinite in his character is the Greek Poseidon. At
first, Poseidon seems to have been a god of the sea and of the
watery elements in general, the billows of which with his
trident he could set in violent motion at pleasure, or, on the
contrary, soothe. Like most sea-gods he could also influence
the fertility of the soil. [49]

A prominent place in the primitive world of spirits is
occupied by the supernatural beings whose activities are
expressed in natural phenomena. The belief that phenomena
like thunder and lightning, meteors, the rainbow, etc., are due
to supernatural causes must ultimately be explained by the
savage people’s ignorance of what we call natural laws. Since,
on the other hand, uncivilized man is prompted by a practical
desire to form an idea about the causes of certain natural
phenomena, he arrives at a theory which, from his intellectual
point of view, lies within easy reach.

Earthquakes, for instance, have been ascribed by all savage
and barbaric peoples to supernatural monsters. Concealed in
the bowels of the earth, these, through their movements,
cause this feared natural phenomenon. A phenomenon like
thunder can only arise from invisible spiritual beings at work
behind the clouds. The South American Indians believe
that violent thunderstorms are caused by a great number of
evil spirits making noises and rushing through the air. [50]
The Chaco Indians regard these demons as enemies malung
an onset on the village. Every time a burst of thunder is heard,
the Indians, seated in their huts, start to shout and scream
loudly in order to frighten away the molesting supernatural
visitors. [51] The same is true of the Jibaros, as I have
mentioned before, when comparing their ideas and customs
with similar ones among the Kafirs of South Africa. In short,
we are dealing here with an idea typical of lower peoples all
over the world. At higher stages of culture the idea about
this natural phenomenon becomes more and more individ-
ualized. Thunder is now ascribed to one powerful personal
being who resides above the clouds, and lightning to the
“ sword ” which he brandishes against men. In this way have
arisen those dreadful thunder- and lightning-gods familiar
from Aryan religions and who, for instance, appear in typical
form in the Greek Zeus and the Scandinavian Tor. These

134 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

purely anthropomorphic deities of the thunder and lightning
belong, however, to the polytheistic stage in the history of
religion.

The South American Indians have the same idea about
comets and meteors as about thunder and lightning, namely,
that evil spirits — in many cases the spirits of dead sorcerers —
are working through these unusual phenomena. Even more
interesting is their idea about the rainbow. The rainbow is
also commonly regarded as an evil spirit, and its appearance
considered a bad omen. He is particularly dangerous to young
women, since he has the power to make them supematurally
pregnant. This belief is found among the mountain Indians
in Peru, and also in the virgin forests east of the Andes. The
Indians of Western Amazonas fancy that the rainbow is nothing
more than a huge anaconda (water-serpent) in the air, or, as they
generally express it, the “ shadow of the anaconda Women
among these Indians fear the rainbow particularly as the rein-
carnation of the spirit of an evil wizard. When the rainbow
appears, a woman in her menstrual period is not supposed to go
out for fear the rainbow demon should make her pregnant, in
which case she will give birth to a demoniacal child. [52]

In the same way winds and tempests are looked upon as
manifestations of the activity of supernatural beings. In the
Chaco, the violent whirlwinds which are often seen moving along
the ground raising pillars of dust and damaging the habitations
are regarded by the Indians as the passing of spirits or demons.
Of such spirits the Toba Indians say, “ There goes a peyak (evil
spirit) dancing in the dust.” [53] In the Amazon region the
violent hurricanes which frequently blow over a limited space
in the virgin forest and cause enormous devastation among
the trees and plants, are attributed to dreadful supernatural
monsters passing through the forest.

At a higher stage of religious evolution these wind- and
tempest-demons appear frequently as personal beings. Such
were the wind-gods of classical peoples. Well known is Virgil’s
description of iEolus, in the Aeneid, that king of the winds who
kept his refractory subjects shut up in dark subterranean caves
lest in the fury of their hurricane-flight they should sweep away
lands and seas. [54] In Homer, for instance, the personihcation
of the winds is seen in the description of Achilles calling on
Boreas and Zephyrus with libations and vows of sacrifices to

WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE

I3S

blow into a blaze the funeral pyre of Patroklos. [55] The idea
of wind-demons appears in its most primitive form, however,
in popular Greek religion where it lingers on during the whole
of antiquity. An English Greek scholar, Miss Harrison, has even
tried to show that the primitive Greeks thought of wind-demons
as essentially ghosts, that is storm ghosts, who snatched away
people to death. This idea would explain why the Greeks pro-
pitiated them with the same rites as those performed for the
dead. [56] That they were associated with the gloomy region
of the under- world is quite natural since, among other things,
they were believed to bring with them pestiferous disease.

Examples of a direct worship of wind-gods or -demons are
numerous among the Greeks. One of the most famous is that
mentioned by Herodotus and other writers concerning the
Athenians during the Persian War. When Xerxes was marching
against Greece they inquired of the Delphic oracle and were
told that they ought to prey and sacrifice to the winds as these
would be powerful allies of Greece. The Athenians did so,
with the result that a violent storm arose which cast away no less
than four hundred of the Persian vessels. From this time
onward an official regular cult of the winds seems to have been
established in Greece. [57]

As of the Greeks, so of the lower cultures in general, the wind-
demons seem, in most cases, to be conceived as spirits of the
dead.

Among the nature-spirits proper one must also include those
spiritual beings animating heavenly bodies, the sky itself as
well as the sun, the moon, and the stars. This particular form
of worship has recently been the object of elaborate inquiries,
so I shall not dwell long upon it here. Besides this, the
heavenly powers are not very prominent in the cult of primitive
peoples; they belong rather to the polytheistic than to the
animistic stage in the history of religion. The absence or
paucity of sun-worship in the lower cultures has been pointed out
by Sir James Frazer with special reference to such peoples as the
Australian aborigines, the Melanesians, the Polynesians and the
Micronesians, as well as the modern black races of Africa. He
adds that, whatever may be the reason, a solar religion seems to
flourish best among nations which have attained a certain degree
of civilization, such as the ancient Egyptians and the Indians of
Mexico and Peru at the time when they were discovered. [58]

136 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

It is quite natural that, for primitive peoples, the powers of the
sky are too far off and interfere too little with their practical life
to attract attention and become the objects of worship in the true
sense of the word.

Nevertheless, the first beginnings of a cult of heavenly deities,
or spirits, can be traced among primitive peoples. The most
common idea is that the souls of departed ancestors have trans-
migrated into the sun, the moon, and the stars. Such ideas, for
instance, are found in South America, where one can also study
characteristic differences in the conception of the heavenly
powers arising from different natural and cultural conditions.

One can understand that in the tropical virgin forests east of
the Andes, the sun should be less important as a giver of warmth
and fertility than in the cold mountainous regions. In a hot
climate the sun may be regarded rather as a malevolent than
a beneficent being. Even in a land like ancient Greece the
burning pestiferous rays of the sun in summer time could not
help giving rise to the belief that the sun-deity appears some-
times as an evil destructive demon who must be appeased
with appropriate rites, [59] In tropical and subtropical South
America a vague personification of the sun and the moon — who
are regarded as “ people ” — is met with among many tribes, but
no red worship is connected with them. More definite are the
ideas held by the Onas in Tierra del Fuego. “ They like the
sun,’’ says an ethnologist, “ simply because formerly it was a
great man, and because for the time being it sends light and
warmth.” [60] The sun, as also the moon and the stars, are
looked upon with great respect, and even with fear. The stars,
they assert, are departed men, and some of them, even, men who
still live. It is natural that, in a cold country like Tierra del
Fuego, the sun should particularly attract the attention of the
natives and be respected as a beneficent power.

In tropical South America these ideas are probably rare. In
the myths of the Guiana Indians the sun, moon, and stars often
figure not only as personified beings, but, in some cases, are said to
have human origin. The sun with its crown of rays is described
as an Indian with a head ornament of silver and parrot feathers,
ear-pendants of brilliant beetle wings, and so on. The moon
formerly lived on the earth as an evil sorcerer, while legends are
current about the stars, indicating that these heavenly bodies
are intimately associated with the departed. The Milky Way,

WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE 137

for instance, is supposed to be the path along which the souls of
the departed wander to the Shade-land, a belief found among
many tribes. Likewise the Pleiades, which play an important
part in the calendar of many primitive peoples. Sowing and
planting are often determined by observation of this constel-
lation, which is connected with the spirits of the dead. [61] Such
a view, which to a certain extent undoubtedly supports Spencer’s
well-known theory of the origin of religion, is quite natural,
since the Indians fancy that the souls of the departed not only
take up their abode in different natural objects on the earth, but
also rise upwards to the sky.

It was far otherwise with the worship of the sun and the moon
in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia. Although the sun was the
special deity of the Incas of Cuzco and its worship spread from
them to those Andean peoples whom they conquered, there are
numerous traces of a sun-worship in the mountain area inde-
pendent of the Incas. The sun-worship in the mountain regions
of Western South America was not essentially the outcome of
deliberate invention or enforced propagation, but had, as it were,
a natural foundation. The sun was one of those heavenly powers
who had too great an influence upon the w^elfare of the Indians
to be neglected. This becomes perfectly clear from the words
used at sacrifices made to the sun-god of the Incas. Phrases re-
peated again and again in the prayers addressed to him had for
theme that he may always remain young and rise every day
illuminating the earth, that he may give warmth in order that the
fruits may grow, etc. [62]

The sun was not worshiped by the Incas as such, i,e. as a
heavenly body, but because it was looked upon as the abode of
a spirit. On this point one of the best-known authorities on
the modern Aimara culture states: “ It was not the orbs (sun
and moon) to which a certain w^orship was offered, but to the
spiritual beings that dwelt in them, the Achachilas or Pacarinas
believed to reside both in the sun and the moon.” [63] Acha-
chila and pacarina were words used by the ancient Quichua and
Aimara to denote their ancestors, worshiped at the scared places
called huaca. We may conclude from this that the sun-deity
and the moon-deity belonged to the same category of ancestral
spirits as those inhabiting other inanimate natural objects. When
the Incas called the sun their “ father ” from whom they were
descended, or when the dying Inca said that he was going to join

138 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

his “ Father the Sun ’’ who had called him to rest with himself
in the other life, this was not merely a metaphor or figure of
speech. The whole Inca religion comprised a grand system of
ancestor worship and in this, the worship of the sun and other
heavenly bodies played an integral part.

Everywhere the sun did not enjoy the same respect as at Cuzco.
In some parts of the country his place was secondary in com-
parison with that occupied by the other heavenly powers. An
ancient writer, Antonio de Calancha, tells that the inhabitants
of the valley north of Trujillo “ worshipped the moon as their
principal deity ; for he has the power over the elements, produces
ailments, and is the cause of the movements of the sea, of the
lightning and of the thunder.” They had an huaca called Si-an
( ” the house of the moon where they adored the moon. They
looked upon the moon as more potent than the sun, ” because the
sun only shines in the day, whereas the moon is visible both day
and night, and because the moon sometimes causes eclipses of
the sun, whereas the sun never causes eclipses of the moon.”
As well as the moon they worship the Pleiades, because this
constellation was believed to bring ailments and to make the
plantations grow. [64]

Clearly, the benefits of a solar deity can be fully appreciated
only by agricultural peoples. Pastoral peoples, too, will have
reason to pay attention to a heavenly god who dispenses warmth
and promotes the growth of the pasture.

The Lapps may be mentioned as an instance of pastoral
peoples who have developed a sun-worship. It is easy to under-
stand what the appearance of the sun in the spring must have
meant for the heathen Lapps after the long arctic night. As an
ancient Swedish missionary states, ” they regarded the sun as a
mother of all living beings.” Another ancient writer states that
” the sun is called by the Lapps a god who, in shining, warms
the earth and effects that the grass grows for the nourishment of
the reindeer; and, in order that the sun may shine, the Lapps
formerly sacrificed to it white cattle, and on the Midsummer
Eve used to eat, in honour of the sun, a porridge called the
‘ porridge of the sun *. Before making these offerings, the
Lapps always went down on their knees and prayed to Ae sun
that it might bountifully throw its warmth on their reindeer and
upon everything else of which they derived sustenance. They
did the same after the porridge offering was consumed, praying

WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE

139

that the sun might grant them a plentiful milk-summer and that
their reindeer might prosper.” [65]

Many of the offerings of the Lapps, especially to the sun,
were magical in character, as we shall see later. Such, for
instance, were the images of the sun offered to this solar deity,
and the sun-rings which were held towards him so that his rays
were caught with it. The conspicuous object of these rites was
to promote, in a purely mechanical way, the rising of the sun
over the horizon, or to keep its light as long as possible. The
sun-worship of the Lapps which, in spite of a certain Scandi-
navian influence, is doubtless in essence a genuinely native cult-
form, is typical, on the whole, of the religion of an arctic
people.

From early times among other Finno-Ugrian peoples the
sky, with its many mysterious phenomena, its lights, its rain,
its thunder and lightning, etc., was the object of a certain
worship. In a general way the heavenly bodies were thought to
be animated, but at any rate there is no direct relation between
this cult and the cult of the dead, which elsewhere forms the
foundation of the Finno-Ugrian religion. As among the Aryans,
so in the Finno-Ugrian area, the heaven was worshipped simply
as such or in its material form, the same word being used for
“ heaven-god ” as for “ heaven It is only later among the
Votyaks, for instance, that the heaven was worshipped as a
personal anthropomorphic deity, known by the name of Inmar.
He is regarded above all as the god of agriculture, who will
promote the fertility of the fields.

Next to the heaven-god the Votyaks pay reverence to the
spirit of the sun, of the thunder, and of Ae earth, whereas the
Tsheremisses worship both the sun and the moon as “ Mothers ”.
It is a worship based wholly on a vague animation of these
heavenly bodies. [66] But whereas both the sky and sun have
thus been looked upon as real gods among the Finno-Ugrian
tribes, and been appealed to especially in connection with
agriculture, one has to remember that these cults are largely of
comparatively recent origin and the result of foreign influence.
It may now be difficult, even impossible, to determine what
ideas ^ese peoples held about the powers of the sky in primitive
times. Judging from the ideas held by other primitive peoples,
however, we must assume that their role in practical religion
has been insignificant.

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

140

Uncultured peoples, extending their theory of animation to
everything, also deify objects made by human hand. In speaking
of the intrinsic tendency of the Malays to attribute a soul to
natural objects, Mr. Skeat remarks that one must be prepared to
find that the Malay theory of animism embraces “ the human
race, animals and birds, vegetation (trees and plants), reptiles and
fishes, its extension to inert objects, such as minerals and sticks
and stones, weapons, boats, food, clothes, ornaments, and other
objects which to us are not merely soulless, but lifeless.*' [67]
This statement, I think, holds true of most uncivilized peoples.
In the imagination of the Tsheremiss, for instance, his old
dwelling, the kata, becomes as it were a living being to whom
one can speak and who understands the wants of man. When
he settles down in a new house he prays to it for prosperity :
“Grant me health and well-being, give me domestic happiness.**
This prayer, however, does not seem to be addressed to the
cottage as such, but to the spirit who is looked upon as its invisible
owner and inhabitant. At one time it was the custom to arrange
for this house-spirit, in a comer of the kata, a kind of altar for
offerings. This consisted of a small bark box provided with a
roof, in which the offerings were laid. 'Fhe modern Tsheremiss
also speaks of his particular house-spirits and of the soul { 6 rt) of
the cottage. As with the soul of man, the soul of the kata may
leave his dwelling-place, temporarily or for ever. If the inhabi-
tants quarrel, scream, smoke much tobacco in the house, or keep
it dirty, the “ soul *’ disappears. “ You drive away the soul of
my house,*’ says the Tsheremiss when somebody disturbs the
peace in his home. Not only the dwelling-houses proper, but
also other buildings, such as the stable, the kiln, the bath-house,
the store-house, and so forth have their local or tutelary spirits.
Similarly the boat, the field-gate, the axe, the plough, the sickle,
the cup, the spoon, the mirror, the shoes, the carriage-gear,
and so forth were believed to have souls of their own. [68]

Ideas of this kind are met with among many primitive peoples.
At one time, for example, the Finns of Finland held exactly the
same belief about local spirits or fairies inhabiting dwelling-
houses and other important buildings, as the Tsheremisses,
Among the Swedish population in Finland this belief had its
counterpart in the beings called tomten, radar en, and so forth.
But originally both the Swedish tomten and the Finno-Ugrian
house-spirits seem to have been merely the spirits of departed

WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE

141

men, who still continued to hold sway over the house they once
inhabitated and became the objects of worship. [69]

When the Quichua Indians in Peru build a new house, they
bury at each of the pillars supporting the house, certain peculiar
things which are supposed to contain magical power: llama-
fcetuses, coca, small tin-figures, Indian pepper, salt, etc. The aim
of these sacrifices is to impart strength and stability to the new
building and to prevent its breaking down prematurely. [70]
The ancient Scandinavian vikings were inspired by a similar
idea when they smeared the keel of their vessels with human
blood. It is not quite clear in these instances, w'hether the
sacrifices were directed to the material objects themselves,
to the house and the boat personified, or to the spirits or souls
thought to animate them. Considering that lower peoples
commonly ascribe souls to weapons and implements, food- and
drinking-vessels and so forth, the latter seems probable. The
Pueblo Indians, famed for their clay vessel industry, regard the
clay vessel as a living being with a principle of life or soul. On
the ornaments which decorate the external side of the vessel
one notes a constant feature, namely, that encircling lines are
left with open ends, the little space serving as an exit trail for the
life or being. The noise made by a pot when struck is supposed
to be the voice of its associated being ; the clang of a pot when
it breaks or suddenly cracks in burning is the cry of this being as
it escapes or separates from the vessel. [71]

Similar ideas are found among some South American Indians.
The Jibaros believe that the clay vessel has the soul of a woman;
only women, therefore, can make clay vessels, just as they mostly
handle them in daily life. In the same way other utensils,
weapons, implements, clothes, needles, etc., have their own
souls. Among other things, when the Jibaro Indian is intoxi-
cated by his narcotic drinks and has unusual visions, the souls
animating such objects appear to him. I may add that the cere-
monial breaking of clay vessels in South America, which takes
place notably at burials, is due in part at least to animistic ideas :
when the clay vessel is broken its soul is set free. [72]

The fact that the spirits of such objects always appear in
human form, seems to show that they have the same origin as
most other animistic beings treated in this chapter. In many,
perhaps most cases, they are simply human souls which have
taken up their abode in these objects. In other cases they may

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

142

only be moulded with the human soul as a pattern. Be this as it
may, a close examination of the animistic ideas of the lower
peoples seems to lead to this conclusion, namely, that the
spiritual life with which primitive man endows the objects and
phenomena of nature, animals, plants, and inanimate objects, is
but a projection of his own psychical life. In its widest sense,
therefore, nature- worship proves to be simply a part of the
worship of man himself. This fact, moreover, can be illustrated
by the spiritualism and demonology of savage and barbaric
peoples.

CHAPTER VIII

TOTEMISM

T OTEMISM is a subject which, for two reasons, I shall deal
with only briefly in this book. In the first place, it has
been treated at length by Sir James G. Frazer in TotenUsm and
Exogamy. In this he gives a survey of this primitive system of
thought which may be considered almost complete in regard to
some parts of the world. In the second place, totemism,
although closely connected with certain religious and magical
ideas, is still a social rather than a religious phenomenon, and
should be given detailed treatment in a sociological work rather
than one on religion. Nevertheless, there are certain areas
which Sir James Frazer has touched on only superficially. As
to the question as to how totemism originated, there may, I
think, be opinions which differ from those expressed by him in
this work.

Ever since MacLennan, through his well-known articles in
the Fortnightly Review on “ The Worship of Animals and
Plants ”, drew the attention of anthropologists and historians of
religion to the phenomenon called “ totemism ”, this form of
primitive religion or superstition has held a central place in
discussions about the social organization and beliefs of the lower
peoples. Not only did MacLennan show that totemism is met
with among many more peoples than the Indians of North
America and the Australian aborigines, but he expressed the
opinion that it has marked a stage of culture through which all
peoples have passed. As indicated by the very title of his
articles, he started, moreover, from the assumption that any form
of animal and plant worship must have a totemistic origin.

• All these obvious exaggerations have been repeated even in
our own days, although, on the whole, a more sober view is now
taken on the subject. Most anthropologists realize that totem-
ism is neither a general phenomenon, common to all lower
races at a certain stage of culture, the viewpoint of the culture-
history school, nor is it identical with the worship of animals and

M3

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

144

plants as is still sometimes contended. The question whether
totemism exists, or has once existed, among all lower races of
mankind has been discussed with an earnestness which indicates
that more weight has often been ascribed to it than it really
deserves. The answer to much of it depends on the meaning
given to the term “ totemism ”. If by a totem we mean a special
class of animals or plants to which a certain group of people pay
reverence, assuming a mysterious affinity between themselves and
that animal or plant — as the most general definition of totemism
— we may certainly say that it is not a world- wide social and
religious phenomenon.

Totemism of this kind is found in North America and Aus-
tralia, also in many other parts of the world, for example in New
Guinea and Melanesia, India, Central and South Africa, and so
forth. But it was evidently unknow'n to the various Indo-
European peoples, as also to the majority of the Mongolian,
Turco-Tartaric, and Finno-Ugrian peoples of Asia. Likewise,
all attempts to prove its existence among the ancient Egyptians
and the Semitic peoples have been futile, in spite of the efforts of
Robertson Smith and his school to prove that the ancient Semites
had totemism in its true and original form. On the other hand,
it must be noted that the fundamental idea underlying totemism,
the idea of the transmigration of souls into animals and plants,
is found in some form or other among most lower peoples and
that many of them, although they have not developed totemism
in the strict sense of the word, still show an approximation to
such a system.

Therefore, although totemism is not, on the whole, a char-
acteristic feature of the social and religious life of the North
Asiatic peoples, one still finds numerous traces of it, or at any
rate of those ideas which, among other peoples, have led to
totemism in the proper sense of the word. In a work on the
bear-worship of the Ostyaks, the Russian ethnologist N. Haruzin
expressed the opinion that these Finno-Ugrian tribes regarded
the bear as their totem. Facts which, according to Haruzin,
point in this direction are as follows : first, there are myths telling
that the bear descends from a hero who once lived on the earth ;
secondly, the name of the bear is used in some cases as a family
name ; and thirdly, a slaughtered bear is never entirely destroyed,
the bones at any rate being always carefully preserved, [i]

Although Haruzin attaches great importance to the last fact.

TOTEMISM

HS

I think it carries little weight as a proof of totemism. It is a
common thing* remember, for the bones of game killed in hunt-
ing to be preserved for purely magical reasons, savage peoples
believing that wild animals can be controlled through the bones
of these animals. This belief has essentially nothing to do with
totemism. Still less, without further inquiry, can many other
superstitions in regard to animals be interpreted as “ traces
of totemism.

On the other hand, the affinity which Siberian tribes suppose
to exist between man and the bear unquestionably points to a
primitive view likely to lead to totemism. There are also direct
evidences of totemism in Siberia. Here, the Samoyedes on the
Ket River declare that they are descended from the bear, and
wear as emblems the severed nose of the animal together with
adjacent parts of the scalp. These emblems are said to represent
the “ all father ’’ or the totem animal. Dr. Donner, who relates
this, adds that he received similar information from the River
Tas, where the Samoyedes claim descent from the swan and
certain other animals. [2]

Similar stories about the descent of men from certain animals
are also current among the Yenisey-Ostyaks. Dr. Karjalainen
states that some of the real Ostyaks are familar with social organ-
izations of this kind. In some parts of the area inhabited by the
Ostyaks, the population is divided into three minor groups or
clans. Here exogamy prevails, members of the same social
group being prohibited from marrying. Among the Tartars
also one finds social groups of related persons who take their
names from certain animals, the elk, the reindeer, etc. It is
stated, however, that the corresponding animals are not the
objects of any particular cult or reverence, and members of the
group are not forbidden to kill them should opportunity arise.

Here, one may say, we have a clan totemism with a purely
social, not a religious significance. According to Karjalainen,
the Ostyaks in general were divided into five main tribes which
in their turn were subdivided into smaller sibs or clans according
to blood-relationship. The former took their names from the
rivers on the banks of which lived the various tribes, whereas the
sub-tribes took their names from animals such as the reindeer,
the wolverine, the sable, the fox, the owl, the hawk, the roach,
etc. [3] These animal names point unmistakably to a kind of
totemic clan organization among the Ostyaks.

K

146 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

We may add similar other instances. As early as 1730, at a
time when the name “ totemism ” was still unknown to science,
a German traveller Ph. J. v. Strahlenberg gave in a work a
description of the beliefs of the Yakuts, where he says among
other things: “ Each family has a special animal which is re-
garded by it as sacred, e,g, the swan, the goose, the raven, etc.,
the animal worshipped by a family never being eaten by any
member of the same, though others may eat of its meat.’’ [4]
The swan plays a part in the mythology of many Central Asiatic
peoples, and is generally regarded as a female being. The
Buriats, for example, have a tale about a swan- woman whom a
hunter married and by whom he had many human children.
This belief gave rise among the Buriats to certain ceremonies. [5]
The Yenisey-Ostyaks likewise look upon swans as female beings,
subjected to menstruation like women. Certain Buriats trace
their descent {uthka) from a swan. In one of their songs it is
said : “ The uthka of the thousand-numbering Khangin tribe is
the bird rew, the uthka of the Serel-Mongols is the bird khun.''
The words sen and khun denote the Siberian swan. [6]

The idea that an animal is the male progenitor of a tribe or
people seems to be quite common in Asia. Dr. Sternberg states,
for instance, that there are many tribes or families on the Amur
who trace their descent from the tiger or the bear on the ground
that the mothers have dreamt of marital relations with these
animals. [7] Stories of this kind are found among other Central
Asiatic peoples also. Thus, in a Buriat tale, we hear of an eagle
sent by the gods from the heavens to become a shaman on earth.
But although it protected men against evil spirits, they did not
understand its significance, and so it returned to the heavens.
The gods then exhorted it to bestow its shaman nature on the
first human being it happened to meet. The eagle then ap-
proached a woman sleeping under a tree, with the result that
she became pregnant. In due time the woman gave birth to a
son who thus became the first shaman. [8]

The manner in which Asiatic peoples believe in descent from
gome animal is illustrated, for instance, in the case of the Bersit
tribe, whose ancestor is said to have been a wolf. [9] The
origin of the Mongols is dealt with in several myths. In one we
are told how two khans made war on one another, slaying all the
people but one woman. This woman met a bear by whom she
had two children, and from these sprang the Mongols. [10]

TOTEMISM 147

The Kirghis claim descent from a wild boar and, for this reason,
refuse to eat pork, [ii] Instances of this kind could be easily
multiplied. They show clearly that the idea of animals as the
ancestors of families and whole tribes occur among a great many
Siberian peoples. In some cases, although not all, the belief
imposes on the members of the family or tribe in question the
duty of sparing the life of the animal from which it claims
descent, or of revering it some way.

My aim, as I have said, in establishing these hitherto little
known facts about the existence of totemic ideas, or the approxi-
mation to a totemic clan organization, among some North and
Central Asiatic peoples, has not been to lend further support to
the universality ” of totemism. I merely wanted to show the
common occurrence, among all lower races of mankind, of ideas
about animals which, under certain circumstances, might develop
into full totemism. This social and religious system is founded
above all on the belief in a close relationship between men and
animals, which, in its turn, gives rise easily to the belief in the
reincarnation of human souls in animal beings.

Ideas of this kind are found, moreover, in South America,
another part of the world where totemism is said to be almost
unknown. I have remarked before that ideas about trans-
migration of human souls into animals and plants are current all
over the continent. The close connection betv^een these ideas
and the traces of a totemic clan organization among some tribes
is easy to establish. A few instances may be mentioned in
illustration.

Thus the primitive Indians of Brazil regarded almost every
quadruped, bird, or fish which was important as food as the
temporary or permanent abode of a human soul. Among the
Xingu tribes, for instance, the Borord, as we have seen before,
identify themselves with red macaws: the Bororo are macaws
and the macaws Borord. The souls of both men and women
are believed to be reincarnated in this bird. Consequently
they never eat macaws, and never kill the tame ones. If one
dies, they mourn it. Again, the departed members of other
tribes are transformed into other birds. The negroes, for in-
stance, become black urubii vultures; a white man may be
changed into a white heron, and so on. But besides this identi-
fication of men with certain birds, the same superstition is held
of various quadrupeds and fishes. The Borord believe that

148 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

their medidne-men or bari are reincarnated in those animals
most valued as food. Such animals are the tapir, the head of
which is particularly taboo, the capibara or waterhaas, the deer,
and the jaguar. All these animals, as also certain kinds of fish,
are taboo as food in their natural condition, and require a special
ceremony to remove their harmful qualities. [12]

Both ^e ideas of reincarnation held by the Borord, and the
rites with which they sought to propitiate the slaughtered game,
offer many interesting points of resemblance to the correspond-
ing ideas and rites of strictly totemic peoples in the northern
continent of the New World. The macaw, into which the souls
of the dead Bororo were believed to enter, might easily in fact
be called the totem of these Indians, the rites performed in
“ honour ” of the dead animals being in essence the same as the
totem ceremonies of the North American peoples. OntheXingu,
dancing also forms part of the hunting-feasts. Often connected
with these, moreover, are mask-dances in which certain quad-
rupeds, birds, and Bsh are imitated. In the same way exactly
in North America certain animals are magically influenced by
imitatory mask -dances. The only difference is that, in North
America, these animals are mostly clan totems, whereas on the
Xingu any kind of game in which spirits of the dead are believed
to be incarnate are made the objects of these magical cere-
monies.

Just as the Bororo identify themselves with red macaws, so
the Gayatacazes, another Brazilian tribe now extinct, believed
that after death their souls passed into the bird seuy {Coradna
omata), which thus, in a sense, was the “ totem ” of these
Indians. [13] The influence of the doctrine of the trans-
migration of the souls upon the social organization of the Indians
can be traced, for instance, in the case of the Juri Indians of the
river Yapurk. Among them we find various families or sub-
ordinate hordes which take their names from animals, plants,
and other natural objects. One horde or clan is named after the
toucan, another after another species of large bird, another after a
species of palm, another after the sun, and another after the
wind. [14] Similarly the Uainuma on the same river are divided
into families or clans, all taking their names from animals or
plants . Two of them are called idter two different kinds of palm,
another after the trumpeter bird (Psophia crepitans), another
after the jaguar, and so on. [15] There is little doubt that these

TOTEMISM

149

statements refer to a belief among these Indians in the trans-
migration of human souls into animals, plants, and inanimate
objects. They also show us the beginning of a totemic social
system in so far as a whole group of related people stand sup-
posedly in a special relationship to a certain animal or plant from
which they take their name.

The same may be said of the Salivas on the Orinoco, among
whom one tribe claimed to be descended from the earth, others
from trees, and others from the sun. [16] The Uaup^s Indians
in North-West Brazil also have tribes with names like the follow-
ing: Ananas, “Pine-apples”, Piraiuru, “The mouth of the
fish piraia ”, Pisa, “ Net ”, Carapana, “ Mosquito ”, Tapiira,
“ Tapir ”, Uaracu, a fish, Tticandera, “ Black Ant ”, Jacami,
“ Trumpeter bird ”, Miriti, “ Mauritia palm ”, Taiassu, “ Pig
Indians ”, Tucanos, “ Toucans ”, Uacarras, “ Herons ”, Ipecas,
“ Ducks ”, Coua, “ Wasps ”, Tolu, “ Armadillo ”, [17], etc. It
is a common custom among the South American Indians to
name individual persons after animals and plants, and although
the present-day Indians do not always attach a special meaning
to these names, they unquestionably point to an underlying
belief, perhaps forgotten nowadays, in a close relationship be-
tween man and the lower creation. When an entire group of
men, closely related, is named after a special animal or plant,
as is the case among the Uaup^s Indians and several other
primitive Indian tribes, such a nomenclature may doubtless
be taken as an indication of totemism. At the same time,
the corresponding clan organization may be vague and loose,
as is generally the case in South America.

Among the few tribes in South America which seem to have
a fully developed totemic system are the Goajiros in Colombia
and the Arawaks in Guiana. They are divided into a great
number of exogamous clans with names taken from animals
and plants. According to Mr. Simons, the totem clans of the
Goajiros all draw their names from animals such as the tiger,
the rabbit, the peccary, the vulture, the hawk, the dog, the stork,
the owl, the rattlesnake, the fox, etc. — f.e. from animals which
play a r 61 e in the religion and superstition of the Indians in
many parts of South America. At the time when Mr. Simons
wrote his article on the Goajiros, nearly fifty years ago, there
were, altogether, about thirty odd castes much like the ancient
“ clans ” of Scotland. Of these, Simons was able to discover

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

150

the names of twenty-two. The remainder were insignificant,
little-known castes, chiefly inhabiting the hills, l^ere are
now about ten of importance, chief among them the Urianas.
This, the largest caste in the Goajira, has split up into many
ramifications, such as Uriana tiger, Uriana rabbit, Uriana
paularate (a song bird), Uriana lizard. With the exception
of a few small local tribes, the other castes are distributed in
the greatest confusion throughout the length and breadth of
the land. Moreover, the Goajira clans appear to be exogamous,
with descent in the female line. [18] TTie Swedish traveller,
G. Bolinder, a more recent visitor, states that they are divided
into only fourteen clans, which claim descent on the mother’s
side. Each clan has a mystical connection with some eponymic
animal. The larger clans are subdivided into smaller clans,
each of which likewise takes its name from some animal. [19]
Be that as it may, the Goajiros clearly have totemism of a
typical kind, but, judging from the evidence, its significance
is chiefly social, not religious.

We know a little more about the totemic system of the
Arawaks, notably through the investigations carried out by
Sir Everard F. Im Thum. About fifty of their numerous clans
have been discovered, the names of which are drawn from
native animals and plants. Among animal clans there are the
deer, the black monkey {Ateles beehebub), the redbreast bird
{Leistes americana), “ one of the commonest and most striking
in the coast region of Guiana ”, the tortoise, the rat, the mocking-
bird (also one of the most prominent in the district), the coriaki
parrot, the bee, the armadillo, the hawk, the razor-grinder,
” an insect remarkable for the extraordinary loud sound with
which it makes the forest resound ”, and the night-jar, or goat-
sucker, a bird of which there are many species in Guiana, all
of which arc “ more or less remarkable for the extraordinary
cries with which they make night hideous.” [20]

As to the origin of these names. Sir Everard Im Thum could
do no more than establish that the Arawaks — or at least some
of them — believed that each family was descended from its
eponymic animal, bird, or plant, and that most of these
eponymic objects were those in some way prominent in Indian
life. [21] The statement that each family or clan was supposed
to be ” descended ” from the animal or plant after which it
was named certainly implies that it was totemic in character.

TOTEMISM 151

At the same time it indicates a relationship between them and
their eponymic animal or plant which can be satisfactorily
explained only with the theory of metempsychosis. The
Arawaks undoubtedly believed that the spirits of their ancestors
had inhabited these natural objects, and that after death they
too would be changed into the same objects. Such super-
stitious ideas, inspired by an insect like the razor-grinder,
or a bird like the night-jar, which through their strange
cries awaken feelings of awe in the Indians, are easy to under-
stand. About other animals from which the Arawak clans
took their names, such as the deer, the monkey, the parrot,
and the armadillo, we know that many tribes in tropical South
America believed them to be reincarnated with the spirits of
the dead.

A third people in South America among whom we find fully
developed totemism are the Araucanians. According to
information we possess about them, they have the idea,
characteristic of all truly totemic peoples, that the souls of a
group of kindred persons are always thought to enter after
death into one and the same kind of animal. In this way,
it seems to me, we must interpret the statement of the Jesuit,
Father Falkner, according to which the Araucanians had a
multiplicity of deities, “ each of whom they believed to preside
over one particular caste or family of Indians. . . . Some
make themselves of the caste of the tiger, some of the lion,
some of the guanaco, and others of the ostrich, etc. They
imagine that Aese deities have each their separate habitations —
in vast caverns, under the earth, beneath some lake, hill, etc.
— and that, when an Indian dies, his soul goes to live with the
deity who presides over his particular family.” [22] Falkner’s
statement refers to those Araucanians who lived on the Argentine
pampa in the eighteenth century and whom he calls Moluches.
But the same ideas were held by the Araucanians of Chile.
Father Rosales, who lived for more than thirty years among
these Indians, states that when a child was bom they drank
to its health, “ calling it by the name which they had given
it on account of its descent. Some are of the descent of the
lions, some of that of the tigers, some of that of the eagles,
and of other birds; others have the names of fishes, trees,
stones, plants.” [23] The real character of the animal spirits
with which the newborn child was associated must be looked

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

at in the light of the ideas commonly held in South America
about animals such as the jaguar, the lion or puma, the deer,
etc., as well as about birds and fishes and even inanimate
objects of nature.

It is a remarkable fact that some Indian tribes of South
America, the Arawaks in Guiana, for instance, imagine not
only that they are descended from certain animals and plants,
but also from inanimate objects like rocks and stones, into
which the souls of their dead kinsmen are believed to trans-
migrate. These natural objects tend consequently to become
totems, and in fact there are traces of such a belief in South
America. Numerous legends, current all over Guiana and on
the Orinoco, tell, for example, about men transformed into
stones, about rocks that are the “ ancestors ” of certain tribes,
and so on. A French traveller relates that the Atorais, an
Arawak tribe, believed certain enormous blocks of granite to
be some of their local warriors who had been changed into
stone after death. [24] According to Dr. W. Roth, the
Mapoyas, the Salivas, and the Otomacs, all three Orinoco
tribes, also had beliefs of this nature. The Otomacs used to
say that a stone, made up of three parts and arranged in the
form of a pyramid upon the summit of a high promontory of
rocks called Barraguan, was their earliest ancestress; also that
another remarkable rock, which served as summit to another
pinnacle, two leagues distant, was their first ancestor. Being
consistent, they thought that all the rocks and stones of which
the said Barraguan was formed were each a predecessor of
theirs. [25] We are told of the Otomacs, moreover, that
although tiiey buried their dead, they dug up the skulls at
the end of a year and placed them in and among the crevices
and holes between the rocks and stones of the promontory
mentioned. They expected them in their turn to change into
stone. The idea of the Otomacs and some other Indians that
“ after death the body or skeleton itself is turned into stone,
and so reverts to the very material from which some of them
believed it to have originally sprung ” [26], is interesting. It
reveals a primitive mode of thought which lies also at the
bottom of totemism. The same idea is encountered in Peru,
where individual persons and even whole nations were supposed
to have been converted into stone by the Creator. Certain stone
pillars of peculiar shape were looked upon as petrified men

TOTEMISM

153

and women in Tiahuanaco and other places. Moreover, the
different Aymara tribes seem to have commonly believed that
their first ancestors had risen either from certain fountains and
lakes, or from caves and clefts in certain rocks of extraordinary
size. [27]

Animistic ideas like these may help us to understand how
a social system like totemism has originated. Of the numerous
theories set forth to explain totemism, I shall consider the
only one presented by Sir James Frazer. Concluding his survey
of the totemic beliefs and practices among different lower
races, he tries to explain this primitive system of thought by
what he calls the conceptional theory, based essentially on the
primitive notion of conception and childbirth. The ultimate
source of totemism, according to Sir James Frazer, must be
sought in primitive man’s ignorance of the physical processes
by which man and animals reproduce their kind, and in par-
ticular in his ignorance of the male r6le. In the Bank’s Islands
many people identify themselves with certain animals or fruits,
believing that they partake of their character. They think
that their mothers were impregnated by the entrance into the
womb of spirit animals or spirit fruits, and that they are, in
fact, merely the particular animal or plant which effected con-
ception and in due time was bom with a superficial and
deceptive resemblance to a human being. Sir James Frazer
holds that this primitive belief solves all problems connected
with totemism. [28] But, apart from the bold generalization
that it implies — from one single instance conclusions are drawn
as to the origin of a world-wide institution — it is open also to
other objections.

Firstly, what is the true nature of the spirit which is believed
to gain entrance into the woman’s body in the way described ?
Since Sir James Frazer rejects the theory by which totemism
is derived from the doctrine of metempsychosis, his opinion
evidently is that this spirit is not a human soul temporarily
incarnated in an animal or plant, but a special animal or plant
spirit which, after passing into the woman, is bom into the
world “ with a superficid and deceptive resemblance to a
human being.” This being so, it is hard to understand what
it is that induces animals or plants, or their spirits, regularly
to seek entrance into women’s bodies, nor why they should be
bom into the world in human form. Being real aninud or

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

»S4

plant spirits, they ought naturally to be bom as animals and
plants, and not as human beings.

But the whole question takes on a different aspect when we
consider that — as far as one may venture to generalize on the
ideas of the lower peoples — savage animism has little familiarity
with a particular animal or plant spirit as distinct from a human
soul. All those mysterious spirits which are believed to direct
the animals and animate the plants, and even to inhabit lifeless
things, are seen on closer analysis to be merely human souls
that have temporarily or permanently assumed such shapes.
More correctly speaking, there is really only one kind of spirit
which takes ^e shape of men, animals, plants, or inorganic
objects, according to the bodies or things inhabited for the
time being. Totemism certainly assumes a peculiar primitive
idea of conception; but to understand it fully we ought not
only to take into account the savage man’s idea of conception,
but his whole theory of generation and descent. It will then
appear that the spirit believed to have entered into the woman
through the miraculous conception is only an Indian ancestor
who has been reborn in one of his descendants, having mean-
while been incarnated in an animal, plant, or some other
natural object.

To the savage in general, birth and death have not the same
radical importance as to civilized man; rather are they merely
two transitional moments in the history of the living beings
and neither mean an absolute beginning nor an absolute end.
When a child is bom, this life is not a new life in the strict
sense of the word. A spirit existing earlier in human form has
again assumed that form: it is simply one of the forefathers
reappearing in the newborn.

On the other hand, when an Indian dies he does not by
any means cease to exist. Death does not imply the extinction
of life, it only means transition from one form of existence
to another. In the moment of death the soul is temporarily
released from the bonds of the visible material frame. There-
after it may freely hover about in the air or in the neighbour-
hood of the grave ; it may rise to the heavens and transmigrate
into the sun, the moon, the stars; it may operate in some
natural phenomenon like thunder; or it may again materialize
in some natural object on earth, an animal, a plant, a mountain,
a rock, a lake, and so forth. But the soul’s stay in these objects

TOTEMISM

155

is only temporary. It expects to reassume human form, and
in due course is reborn in one of the descendants of the Indian
man or woman whose body it animated earlier. Thus human
life, in including a part of animal and plant life, presents an
eternal circular course with apparently no beginning and no
end, and changing only in the successive incarnations and
transformations through which the soul has to pass.

The existence of this view can be shown both by direct and
indirect evidence, in regard, for instance, to such peoples as
the Indians of North and South America and the Australians,
i.e. peoples that have totemism in its most typical form.

Aimong other things, clear indications of it are found in the
American Indian system of name-giving. According to primi-
tive belief, the soul of a person is inherent in his name. Con-
sequently, when the Indians name their children after animals,
plants, even after inanimate natural objects like mountains,
rocks, rivers, and lakes, as was the habit, for instance, in ancient
Peru and Guiana, this custom must have a deeper foundation.
It must have originated in the idea that the soul of the ancestor,
reborn in the child, was previously incarnated or materialized
in some of these objects. From this point of view we can
understand why the Indians commonly name their children
after animals or plants, and at the same time after their
ancestors. It is remarkable that, in North America, the idea
of reincarnation appears most marked among those very
peoples who have totemism in its most highly developed form.

Thus the Tlingits, Haidas, and other peoples in the north-
western part of the continent firmly believe that dead persons
come to life again in newborn children of their own family
or clan. The Tlingit children, one is told, usually bear two
names, one from the mother’s family, another from ^e father’s.
It is given ceremonially at a great feast in memory of the dead ;
and many Tlingits who are not able to celebrate it lack entirely
this second name. We are told, moreover, that when a pregnant
woman dreams of a dead relative the Tlingits think that the
soul of the deceased has entered into her and will be bom
again. And when a newborn child resembles a dead kinsman
or kinswoman, they conclude that it is the dead person who
has come to life again, and accordingly give it his or her name.

'The Tlingits not only believe that Ae dead are reborn in
men and women, but also take steps to facilitate their rebirth.

156 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

Thus, when a beloved person dies, the relatives often take the
nail from the little finger of the right hand and a lock of hair from
the right side of the head and put them into the belt of a young
girl of the clan who has just reached maturity. Afterwards she
has to lead a very quiet life for eight mon^s and fast for as
many days. After her fast is over and just before she eats,
she prays that the dead person might be bom again from
her. [29]

The same idea of the transmigration of souls prevails among
the Haidas. They think that the soul of a dead ancestor is
often reborn in the person of one of his descendants. When-
ever this is supposed to have happened, the newborn child
naturally receives the name of the ancestor or ancestress who
has come to life again in him or her. The medicine-men or
shamans profess to learn in a dream or vision the name of the
person who has just been reincarnated, and the infant is named
accordingly. They believe that a man is always reborn into
his own clan, and generally into his own family. A raven
man, for instance, always comes to life again as a raven, never
as an eagle ; and similarly, however often an eagle man might
die and be reborn, at each reincarnation he would still be an
eagle to the end of time. Of the Tinnehs or Den<Js, Father
Petitot observes that “ the ancient faith in metempsychosis
and the transmigration of souls is deeply rooted in a great
number of tribes. It is usually the little children bom with
one or two teeth who pass for persons resuscitated or re-
incarnated. The Hurons shared the same belief. According
to Malte-Brun they buried their little ones beside the paths
in order that women who passed might receive their souls
and bring them afresh into the world. This power of re-
incarnation is by the Den& extended equally to animals. [30]

This theory of descent is connected with a peculiar primitive
theory of conception of which many traces can be found among
the South American Indians. There is probably no tribe
to-day which is not aware, in a general way, of the connection
between sexual intercourse and pregnancy. In regard, however,
to the course • of conception itself they have curious ideas.
According to the original belief of the Indians, which is still
seen quite clearly in some primitive tribes, and which, among
other things, has given rise to a custom like couvade, man is
the bearer of the eggs which, to express it simply and briefly.

TOTEMISM

157

he puts into the woman at the sexual act and which she hatches
during pregnancy, just as the earth receives the seed sown in
it. This is the idea which K. von den Steinen found among
the Xingu tribes, Dr. W. Roth among the Guiana Indians,
and I myself among the Jibaros of Ecuador [31], and we may
assume that it expresses a general Indian view. Thus the
foundation of a new human being is laid in a physical sense.
Evidently it is not thought that man transfers his own soul
to the new being. The animating principle in the child
engendered must come from outside in some way. The act
of conception, according to the Indian view, clearly implies
that the embryo, with its true origin in the father, is associated
in a mysterious way with an ancestral soul which has previously
perhaps been lodged in an animal, a plant, a rock, a heavenly
body, or some other inanimate object. From this association
of body and soul a new human being arises who is consequently
a part of the parent more in the physical than in the spiritud
nature, and this primarily of the father. [32]

Very similar ideas seem to prevail among the Australian
aborigines, at any rate some of them. In a previous chapter
I dealt with those mysterious magical instruments called
churinga^ and pointed out their close connection with the
ancestral spirits and totems of the tribes of Central Australia.
During that remote antiquity which the Arunta, for instance,
call Alcheringa, their ancestors went into the ground, each
carrying his churinga with him. His body died, but some
natural feature, such as a rock or tree, arose to mark the spot,
while his spirit part remained in the churinga. The spirit
individual, regarded as the reincarnation of an Alcheringa
ancestor, expects to be reborn by entering into a woman who
happens to pass that spot. The child she conceives, no matter
where bom, receives the totem of that locality.

It is evident, Spencer and Gillen conclude, that the totemic
system of the Arunta and other Central Australian tribes “ is
based upon the idea of the reincarnation of Alcheringa ancestors,
who were the actual transformations of animals and plants, or
of such inanimate objects as clouds or water, fire, wind, sun,
moon, and stars. To the Australian native there is no difficulty
in the assumption that an animal or a plant could be trans-
formed directly into a human being, or that the spirit part
which he supposes it to possess, just as he does in his own case,

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

*S8

could remain, on the death of the animal, associated with such
an object as a churinga^ and at some future time arise in the form
of a human being.” [33]

According to Spencer and Gillen, “ the fundamental feature
of the totemism of the Central Australians is that each individual
is the direct reincarnation of an Alcheringa ancestor, or of the
spirit part of some Alcheringa animal which carried a churingay
and the spirit associated with which became, so to speak,
humanized, and consequently entered a woman and was bom
in human form.” [34] The natives account for this fact by
creating a series of myths according to which they are the
direct descendants of the animal or plant in question.

It seems evident to me, for instance, that totemism in the
New World and in Australia — and the same could be shown
of the African Bantu tribes — is based on fundamentally the
same ideas, the idea of the reincarnation of ancestral souls in
animals, plants, and inanimate objects, and a peculiar primitive
theory of conception, of which there are still several direct or
indirect traces. Sir James Frazer rejects this explanation of
the origin of totemism, among other things, on the ground
that, according to his opinion, die doctrine of the reincarnation
of the dead is unknown ” to most, if not all, of the North
American Indians.”

This assertion is clearly contradicted by the facts already
mentioned about the Tlingits, Haidas, and other Indians of
North-West America. Belief in the transmigration of souls
forms in reality a fundamental dogma of Indian religion both
in North and in South America. Sir James Frazer himself
illustrates it with several instances. As far as it concerns
totemism this belief means, on the one hand, that the members
of a clan are descended from the animal from which the clan
takes its name, and further, that after death its members are
transformed back into the ancestral animal. There is no
doubt that this idea underlies totemism in North America,
although in some tribes, those of North-west America for
instance, we find now only a few traces of it. Nevertheless,
although the Tlingits, for instance, think that in their trans-
migrations the souls of men and animals are restricted to
their own species, so that a man will be bom again as a man,
a wolf as a wolf, a raven as a raven, and so on, they consider
the members of a clan to be related in some way to their totemic

TOTEMISM

159

animal. For example, members of the Wolf clan will pray
to the wolves, “ We are your relations ; pray don’t hurt us.” [35]

The relation in which different clans are supposed to stand
to their totems is set forth more clearly, however, in some
other cases. We are told of the Omahas in the state of Nebraska,
for instance, that they once performed the following ceremony
at the death of a member of the Black Shoulder or Buffalo
clan. The dying person, whether man or woman, was wrapped
in a buffalo robe with the hair removed, and his or her face
painted with the privileged decoration. Thus arrayed and
decorated, the dying man or woman was addressed as follows:
” You are going to the animals (the buffaloes). You are going
to rejoin your ancestors. You are going, or, your four souls
are going, to the four winds. Be strong! ” Members of the
Hangga clan, also a Buffalo clan, performed a similar ceremony
over one of their number at the point of death. They wrapped
him in a buffalo robe, painted him with the traditional lines,
and said to him : “ You came hither from the animals and
you are going back thither. Do not face this way again.
When you go, continue walking.” [36] Sir James Frazer
remarks himself that “ taken in connection with the legends
that these two Buffalo clans are descended from buffaloes,
these death ceremonies plainly point to a belief that dead
members of the clans were transformed back into the ancestral
animals, the buffaloes.” [37]

To sum up — the above ideas which, far from being the
exception in the lower cultures, may probably be regarded
as characteristic of the primitive mode of thought, help us to
solve the most important problems in connection widi totemism.
If savages really believe that the soul, after leaving one body,
and before being reborn in another, has in the meantime
passed through some other form of existence, being reincarnated,
for instance, as an animal or a plant, it is easy to understand
why certain groups of people should claim kinship with these
natural objects. If within a definite group of kindred in-
dividuals, or clan, the belief exists or has once existed that,
from time immemorial, the souls of departed kinsmen on
leaving the body have passed into a certain animal or plant,
and been at last reborn in some of their descendants, this clan
naturally thinks it is descended from that particular animal or
plant and, in a sense, revere it as an ancestor. In other words,

i6o PRIMITIVE RELIGION

totemism can only arise where the doctrine of the transmigration
of souls is brought into a regular system, a definite relationship
being established between a whole group of kindred people
and a particular species of animal or plant. If this is so, there
are naturally primitive peoples who believe in the reincarna-
tion of the dead in animals and plants without having as yet
developed a totemic system.

The particular social organization and the exogamous rules
to which totemism gives rise do not concern us here. Again,
as to the religious and magical ceremonies which form the
other aspect of it, they will be touched upon in that part of
my work which deals with practical religion.

CHAPTER IX

SPIRITS, DEMONS, GHOSTS

I N the survey of animistic ideas current in the lower cultures
given in the previous chapters, we have already, in a sense,
been confronted with primitive demonology. However, those
mysterious spiritual beings which are thought to inhabit animals
and plants, mountains and rocks, gloomy caves, rapid rivers
and cataracts, or which act in phenomena like thunder and
lightning, become demons in the proper sense of the word
only when associated with and regarded as the causes of
incidents deeply concerned with the welfare and destiny of
man. Looking at the matter from a psychological point of
view, we realize that here, in fact, we have the most important
source of the belief in a supernatural world. What is Divine
is primarily that which interferes in a mysterious way with the
destiny of man. Even fetishes become objects of religious
significance only after they have been associated with remarkable
incidents.

At this point we have to deal with another interesting feature
in the psychology of primitive man, namely, his theory about
the wider domain of causation ; in other words, his ideas con-
cerning occurrences for which no apparent productive agencies
are discoverable.

Originally, man w^as led by a purely practical motive to
reflect upon and try to find out the causes of events occurring
in the external world. To speculate theoretically about things
which do not affect him does not occur to him; but should
his welfare be threatened, should one of his fellow-tribesmen
meet with a sudden death or he himself or one of his family
be attacked by a painful disease or experience some other
unexpected evil, then his attention is excited. His very instinct
of self-preservation will lead him to form a theory about the
cause of the accident so that he may know how to overcome
and prevent, if possible, the recurrence of the evil. In many
cases the cause may be immediately apparent. If, for instance,

L I6x

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

162

a savage is killed by lightning or crushed by a falling tree
or a stone coming loose from a rock, his comrades see clearly
that the accident was due to the action of a bad spirit residing
in the clouds, the tree, or the rock; their only trouble then is
to discover the reason of his anger and the means of appeasing
him.

But the origin of evil happenings is not always so clear.
The tw’o common phenomena of life, disease and death, for
instance, appear to primitive man as mystic riddles in most
cases. On this point we can do no better than study his
peculiar theory of causation. Even to the modem savage it
seems almost incomprehensible that there should exist such a
thing as death. “ The notion of necessity being quite unknown
to the savage,” says the explorer von den Steinen, speaking
of the primitive Indians in Central Brazil, “ it is almost im-
possible for him to understand that man, like every living
being, must sooner or later fall into decay. When he repeated
to his teacher the sentence, ‘ everybody must die ’, he doubtfully
shook his head. It appeared to him almost the same thing as
if somebody should say to us, ‘ everybody must be murdered.’
Only in the light of malicious mischief does the Indian see the
cause of death.” [i]

I found similar experiences among the Indians I visited.
Thus the Jibaro Indian does not realize that there should be
such a thing as natural death. In his natural state the Indian
undoubtedly realizes that death is due to the destruction of
the body and to the positive separation of the animating prin-
ciple from it, but he cannot formulate an exact theory as to the
causes of this radical change. To him death is always something
unintelligible, unnatural, and accidental ; in each case it must
have a special cause. More strictly speaking, it can be due
only to the malicious machinations either of another man or
of a supernatural being. The strong young chonta-palm does
not fall to the ground unless the axe is put to its root, or the
violent hurricane breaks its stem, or some other external force
causes its destruction. Just as little will a powerful man, in
the prime of life, die except at the direct or indirect instigation
of an open or secret enemy.

At least theoretically, therefore, the Indian seems to acknow-
ledge natural death in very old persons, whose bodily frame
falls into decay, obeying the same natural law as the huge

SPIRITS, DEMONS, GHOSTS 163

tree of the virgin forest, rotted with age. Practically, however,
they seldom if ever recognize such cases. It is interesting to
note that, even in regard to decrepit men of seventy or eighty,
the usual theory of witchcraft as the inunediate cause of the
catastrophe is nearly always adhered to, especially when the
symptoms answer to the ideas held about this kind of evil.

In the same way, when an Australian aborigine of New South
Wales is killed in a battle or crushed to death by the falling
branch of a tree or dies from some other visible cause, his
comrades do not wonder. The manner of his death was
manifest. But quite otherwise is it when a man sickens and
dies from no obvious influence: then the cause is ascribed to
some hidden malevolence either on the part of evil spirits or
of some wicked wizard. [2] In the New Hebrides, unless
the person is very old or the cause of death is very obvious,
the natives generally attribute death to an evil spirit called
“ Semi”, who poisons people. [3] Much the same view
prevails among the natives of New Mecklenburg, who look
upon the deaA of very old persons, no longer able to work
and support themselves, as a natural occurrence, but on the
other hand regard the death of young people as the result of
witchcraft. [4] In Africa too, among the natives of the Gold
Coast, for instance, death is attributed direcdy to the actions
of men or to invisible powers. If a man is shot by another
man, the cause of death appears obvious to the negro. But
should a man be drowned, or crushed by a falling tree in the
forest, this would not be called an accident. In fact, when
on the Gold Coast a man is drowned, his comrades say: an
evil spirit (the local deity of the river or sea where the accident
occurred) has taken him. [5] In the same way the Cherokees
of North America in ancient times had no conception of a
natural death. They universally ascribed the deadi of those
who perished by disease to the intervention or agency of evil
spirits or witches who had some connection with them. [6]

An interesting example of the way in which savages combine
cause and effect and arrive at a theory as to the cause of an
accident comes from South Africa. A Koussa-chief had
broken off a piece of an anchor belonging to a wrecked ship.
When he died, soon afterwards, the anchor was looked upon
as the cause of his death, because it had been irreverently
treated by him ; it was consequently worshipped as a fetish. [7]

i 64 primitive RELIGION

Most uncivilized peoples, although never failing to ascribe
disease to supernatural causes, make an important distinction
as to these causes which must be particularly shown. The
ideas of the South American Indians seem typical on this
point. The Jibaro Indians distinguish definitely between what
they call witchcraft (tuncki) and “ disease ” (siingura). Tunchi,
properly speaking, signifies the “ arrow ”, the small material
object which the sorcerers throw at their enemies to kill them.
The illness it causes is peculiar to Indians. It would not
take effect on a white man. The Indians even declare that the
whites do not comprehend at all the thing they call tunchi.
The symptoms of this mysterious evil, however, are quite
characteristic. When the Indian’s entire body aches or he
feels intensive pains in some part of it, especially if these are
accompanied by a corresponding swelling and the illness is
quite sudden, he is convinced that he has been bewitched.
Headache and rheumatic pains — pains which even civilized
people still call “ fairy dart ”, Hexenschuss, etc. — suppurating
wounds, colic accompanied by a swelling of the stomach,
painful diseases of the heart and the liver are typical evils
caused by witchcraft.

On the other hand, in the category of “ disease ” (sUngura)
are included most illnesses not specially connected with pains
and which the Indians have caught from the whites, above
all fever and infectious diseases such as small-pox, scarlet
fever, dysentery, and venereal diseases. Whereas the Indian
medicine-men are frequently able to cure witchcraft sent by
other medicine-men, they are entirely powerless against
disease imported by the whites. Thus when an epidemic of
small-pox — a disease which at times has made terrible ravages
among the natives of South America — breaks out in an Indian
village, the inhabitants can generally see no other way of ridding
themselves of the evil other than that of leaving the village for
some time or for ever. Under such circumstances, it is easy
to understand, when a strange white man arrives at their village,
the anxiety with which the savage Indians always ask whether
he “ brings disease ” with him. [8]

I have shown before that the evil of witchcraft, although
appearing in the form of a material object, is in fact thought
to be caused by a demoniacal being embodied in that object.
Similarly, according to Indian belief, “ disease ” (s^ngura) is

SPIRITS, DEMONS, GHOSTS 165

caused by a mysterious spirit, namely, the spirit of a white
man. Usually the Indians can say no more about this strange
spirit than that it simply “ carries away ” people; nor do they
Imow any other way of protecting themselves against his
visitations other than avoiding the place where he rages.

On the other hand, there is also among the Indians a kind
of “ disease ” which is endemic and which they thus knew
before the white man arrived. This kind of siHnguray according
to the belief of the Jibaros, arises directly from their own evil
spirits, called iguanchi. To this category belongs, above all,
malarial fever, to which the Indians fall victim even more
easily than white people. Malaria, therefore, is not, as such,
the result of witchcraft. But so strong is the mania of these
Indians for connecting almost everything in one way or another
with witchcraft, that the wizards are supposed to have a certain
influence even upon the evil termed “ disease They are
believed, for instance, by means of their arrows ’’ and im-
precations, to be able to keep an epidemic ceaselessly raging
in a village so that the inhabitants are ultimately exterminated.
Since demons, as senders of supernatural evils, always get the
better of living men, even the most experienced sorcerers,
the medicine-men generally, also profess their inability to cure
that kind of “ disease ’’ sent by the iguanchi. [9]

Closely connected with witchcraft is the l^d of malady
brought about by a person’s soul being stolen, either by a
sorcerer or a demon. This point of view explains, for instance,
the dread of being photographed displayed by the savage
Indians, a phenomenon known to all travellers in South
America. The Indians, who generally regard the white stranger
as a potent sorcerer, believe that with his camera he takes the
soul of the person photographed, with the result that he will
soon die. The photograph itself is regarded as the soul and
is usually named with the same word that denotes “ soul
The one who possesses the photograph is consequently supposed
to be able to work evil at will upon the person it represents.

To “ lose the soul ”, in general, means the same thing as to
die. Even the evil spirits the Jibaro call iguanchi frequently
kill persons, especially sick persons, by robbing their souls or
enticing them to leave the body. \^ile the person lies in
his bed the demon appears to him in a dream, speaking to
him and singing a seductive song, trying to make his soul

i66

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

follow him to his mysterious habitations in the forest. If the
soul follows the demon to the wood, the fate of the patient is
sealed and he will die.

Ideas of this kind are found among all South American
Indians, who therefore resort to various theories to account
for different kinds of bodily evils. Although adhering generally
to the theory of witchcraft, the Chaco Indians even still
recognize other causes of disease and death, depending on the
nature of the evil. Thus the spirits of the departed are believed
to be a direct cause of death. A very realistic idea is held by
the tribes of the river Pilcomayo, the Chorotis, Tobas, and
others. They fancy that a recently dead husband may cause
his surviving wife to fall ill and die by seizing her by the hair.
He does so simply because he is longing for her company and
wants her to follow him to the grave. This is the reason why
widows always shave off their hair after the death of a
husband. [lo]

I need hardly point out that there is no real contradiction
in these different theories. Death may have various causes,
and illnesses are classified differently according to their
symptoms. It is interesting to note, moreover, that exactly
the same theories about sicluiess and death are found among
uncivilized peoples all over the world, although one people
may prefer to resort to the theory of witchcraft as the origin
of disease and death, and another to the theory that these
evils are sent, or in some way directly caused, by evil spirits,
in certain cases by spirits or souls of the departed.

One need not illustrate here these world-wide beliefs with
many instances. The mysterious supernatural evil which the
Arunta of Central Australia call arunquilta seems to be almost
exactly identical with what the Jibaros call tunchiy although
the Australian term perhaps has a wider application. Spencer
and Gillen state that it has a vague meaning, but is always
associated at bottom with the possession of supernatural power.
The word arunquilta is applied indiscriminately either to the
evil influence or to the object in which it lives temporarily or
permanently. The object may be a piece of wood, bone, or
stone, the presence of which is believed to be causing the
injury or pain, just as the magical “ arrow ’’ is conceived in
South America. Similarly the Australians imagine that the
material object is the embodiment of an evil spirit by whom

SPIRITS, DEMONS, GHOSTS 167

the patient is possessed. The main business of the medicine-
man is to extract the object by sucking and other manipula-
tions. [11]

The Papuans of New Guinea have, too, the same theories
of illness as the primitive Indians: illness is caused either by
sorcery or directly by some spiritual being. Thus the spirits
of the dead, who are greatly feared, are in some cases known to
carry away the souls of living people and also to send illness.
Different is the theory which ascribes death to sorcery or
witchcraft. According to this theory, illness is caused by a
bone or some other material object which has been shot into
a personas body ; the medicine-man removes the evil by sucking
the sick spot. [12] The Malays also have knowledge of a
sickness caused by an evil spirit embodied in a small splinter
of bone, a thorn, a few hairs, or some other magical object which
has been introduced into the patient’s body by secret magical
means and is believed to cause his pains. The Milanau of
North-West Borneo attribute all symptoms of illness to the
operation of malevolent spirits who have possessed the patient.
It would never occur to them to look for the explanation in
unsuitable food, for instance, or from physiological cause.
The only way of curing the sick person is by making a sacrifice
or exorcising the evil spirit tormenting him. But, besides this
theory of possession, the Malays of Indonesia commonly believe
that maladies are, in a more general way, sent by spirits, more
or less powerful, and especially by ancestral spirits, whose
anger in such cases has to be placated by offerings. [13]

These same theories of illness are met with in Africa, among
the Bantu tribes, for instance, in the south and east of the
continent. According to the Kafirs, sickness may be due to
the interference of ancestral spirits, who send it to show their
displeasure with the people of the kraal. If the diviner or
witch doctor decides that the true cause of the sickness lies in
the action of ancestral spirits, he will order a sacrifice for the
propitiation of these powers. At least equally common is the
other diagnosis, namely, that the suffering of the patient is
due to witchcraft. Dudley Kidd states diat in this respect
the practices of the Kafirs are on one point exactly analogous
to those, for instance, of the Indians of South America and the
aborigines of Australia: thorns, beetles, worms, frogs, and
other things are supposed to be the cause of disease, the cure

i68

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

consequently being effected by sucking out the strange object
from Ae seat of pain. [14]

Again, Dr. Lindblom states of the Akamba of East Africa
that, according to their belief, illnesses are caused in three ways :
by the spirits who for some reason are angry with the living,
or by black magic on the part of some evil-disposed person,
or by real illnesses contracted in a natural way. The last
cause seems to be regarded as the least usual, but on the other
hand the “ sucking cure ” seems to be seldom practised
nowadays. We hear, however, of the Kikuyu, a tribe living
north of the Akamba, that “ the medicine-man sucks different
objects out of the sick person’s stomach, e.g. glass beads, grass,
leaves, and other rubbish, put there by some enemy ” — a
typical case of witchcraft treated by the “ sucking cure.” [15]

Surveying now the ideas prevailing in quite a different part
of the world, the arctic peoples of Northern Europe and Siberia,
we find that these peoples account for sickness in much the
same way, ascribing it partly to witchcraft, partly to the direct
operation of evil spirits. The ideas and customs of the ancient
I^pps are of great interest. According to the statements of
early travellers, the ancient Lapp, when he wished to harm an
enemy living in the neighbourhood or at a distance, used to
take a nuniature bow and arrow made of reindeer’s horn. He
then made an image of his enemy. If he wanted to paralyze
his hand only, he shot at the hand of the image with a pointless
arrow ; but if he wished to wound him or cause him a serious
internal ailment, he shot at the image with a pointed arrow.
The “ arrow of the noida ” (name of the Lappish witch doctor)
was called gand by the Lapps, and later was also thought to
have the form of a venomous insect. Another name used for
it was noidendirri. Both these names are of Scandinavian
origin [16], and there is in fact little doubt that the Lapps had
been influenced on this point by their Scandinavian neighbours,
from whom they borrowed so many cultural elements in former
times.

I wish to call attention, however, to the interesting analogy
existing here between the Lapps and the South American
Indians. Thus the tribes of the Rio Ucayali and other Indians
of western Amazonas frequently use small bows and arrows
for the purpose of bewitching other people. Similarly, many
tribes in the Amazon region use a miniature bow and arrow

SPIRITS, DEMONS, GHOSTS 169

in practising venesection, which plays an important role in
their medical art. [17] If a mysterious pain or ailment
suddenly befalling man is explained as an arrow-shot dis-
charged by a human wizard or an evil spirit, one can understand
the Indians trying to counteract the effects of this “ magic shot ”
by using the same sort of weapon as the evil demon himself.

Among the other uncultured peoples of Russia and Northern
Siberia ideas of this kind are not so common, but are by no
means lacking. The information given by our authors as to
the methods of practising witchcraft are on the whole scanty.
Thus the Tsheremisses not only have diviners and magicians
who try to help other people by averting misfortune, but also
others who try to ruin the life and luck of their fellow-
tribesmen by their magic art. These evil sorcerers are called
lokteze, which means “miner”, “destroyer”. [18] Their
existence proves that witchcraft of the same land as that
known to many primitive peoples was practised by the half-
civilized Tsheremisses.

In the Siberian shamanism the witchcraft-theory of disease
plays an important part, as well as the theory which explains
it from direct spiritual influence. Among the shamans there
are not only those who practise “ white ” magic, but also those
thought to harm other people by “ black ” or nefarious magic,
carried out in alliance with the evil spirits. Consequently, one
of the functions of the professional shaman is to expel by his
conjuration the evil demon who has penetrated into the body
of the patient. Since the evil frequently appears in the form
of a material object, it is often extracted by sucking the seat of
pain or by similar manipulations. [19]

Dr. Donner relates a typical case which, according to his
informant, took place on the Yenisey in 1927. One of the
reindeer belonging to a Tungus-shaman, who lived with a
Yenisey-Ostyak couple, had fallen ill while they were travelling
in the vicinity of Tumkhansk; the animal fell down, blood
flowed from its nostrils and it died. When the Tungus stepped
out of his sledge and went to examine the reindeer he too was
taken ill, blood flowing from his mouth and nose. Apparently
lifeless, he was carried at once to another great shaman, who
nursed him for a couple of days, using “ witchcraft”. The
shaman drew out of the side of the man an iron arrow of the
length of a couple of inches. Thus it was clear to him that it

170 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

had been shot off by a great Ostyak-Samoyede shaman living at
a place far off from Turukhansk. The same shaman had also
shot the reindeer, although the arrow had not been found. [20]
This instance of witchcraft has analogies in most parts of the
world. In general, the Siberian peoples have two theories about
the origin of sickness : according to the one, it is due to posses-
sion by an evil spirit sent into the body of the patient by a malev-
olent shaman ; according to the other, it is due to one of his
souls having been removed from the body by evil spirits with or
without the co-operation of a shaman. It is the business of the
professional shaman to find out, by divination, whether in a
given case the sickness is due to the first or the second cause and
to prescribe the remedies to he used. [21] On the whole, the latter
theory is more commonly resorted to. If the soul is abducted
by an evil spirit or escapes in some other way, the person, it is
believed, is bound to sicken and die. The shaman may prevent
this by bringing back the lost soul, having first vanquished the
demon who abducted it. Above all else, shamanism means
a fight with the evil spirits for the possession of the souls of
men. [22] But the idea that sickness may be caused by the
loss of the soul is world-wide, being intimately associated with
that diialistic theory of man found among all lower races.

Even the idea that disease and death have their origin in the
spirits of the departed is extremely common in the lower cul-
tures. It was characteristic of the ancient Finns, for instance,
that they should believe that diseases were sent by the spirits
of their departed relatives. For one reason or another, these
were thought to have grown angry with the survivors, generally
on account of duties neglected, or else they might be longing for
their company. [23] Dr. Kaijalainen states of the Asiatic
Ostyaks and Vogules that illnesses are believed to have various
causes. They may be sent by the spirits of the dead, who are
displeased with their surviving relatives, or by certain local
spirits. They come from the under- world. They may even be
sent by the gods. But in very many cases they are supposed to
be caused by special demons of disease whose sole business it
is to do this. In fact, among these peoples each of their most
frequent maladies is believed to be caused by a demon of its
own who causes it. [24]

However, of all primitive theories of disease the one which
ascribes it to “ possession ” by an evil spirit — brought about, as a

SPIRITS, DEMONS, GHOSTS 171

rule, by what is called witchcraft — is evidently the most natural
from the point of view of an undeveloped mind. Death is the
natural outcome of the work of destruction in process during
disease when man is attacked by a malignant spirit who has taken
up its abode in his body. A conclusion of this kind must lie
within easy reach of a primitive mind which does not grasp either
the notion of a natural causality in occurrences, or the notion of
cosmic laws familiar to civilized man. Suppose the savage is
taken ill with a wasting disease which makes him slowly pine
away, or suppose he is tossed and shaken in fever, or tormented
and wrenched by some internal suffering, or that he twists and
writhes in convulsions. His fellow-tribesmen are not able, of
course, to reason out the natural cause of the illness. All they
observe is that a fearful and mysterious change has taken place
in the patient, a change which cannot have been brought about
by itself. If, then, the evil is not known to have been caused by
any visible agent, it must have its cause in some invisible malev-
olent being who has intruded the body of the sick man. In
this notion, moreover, the analogy to the human soul lies near
at hand. If primitive man had conceived the idea of a human
soul as a separate entity, as a second self residing in the body
and causing life, the idea must naturally have occurred that the
strange mysterious being in temporary possession of the sick
man was like that too, although malevolent in character. That
the mysterious being may at the same time appear as a seemingly
insignificant material object involves for him no contradiction.
An acute bodily pain must have a material cause, and with the
idea that a spirit may be embodied in a material object he is
quite familiar.

It may seem natural to assume, as has indeed been suggested,
that the “ possession-theory ” is the earliest theory of illness
conceived by primitive man, and that the theory which ascribes
it to the loss of the soul, to the activity of the spirits of the de-
parted, or to some other spiritual intervention, is the result of
later speculation. We must take into consideration, however,
that whereas there are certain illnesses, above all those accom-
panied by acute and strictly localized pains, which most natur-
ally for cause suggest the presence of an intruding object in the
body, t^ere are others which suggest another diagnosis, that,
for instance, of the temporary removal of the soul from the body.

The fact that both theories coexist among many compara-

172 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

tively low tribes, such as the Indians of Gran Chaco, indicates
that, on the whole, they must be regarded as equally “primitive*'.
Their existence, moreover, in utterly different parts of the world
shows that they cannot be explained as the result of “ diffusion ",
but form instances of a parallelism due to the psychic unity of
mankind. On the other hand, the idea that illnesses are sent
or indirectly caused by some malevolent spiritual power or god
unquestionably marks a higher conception and belongs to a
more advanced stage in the evolution of religious thought.

The “ possession-theory " of disease has not been limited to
primitive peoples. The Greeks may again be mentioned as a
typical example of peoples of ancient civilization who have
adhered to it. At an early period of their history, and partly
at the height of Hellenic culture, the idea of an occult evil agency
behind bodily ills was characteristic of their medical doctrine.
Every abnormal condition of body or mind, madness or insanity,
the delirium and hallucinations of sick or intoxicated persons,
epileptic fits, in fact all kinds of disease, were ascribed by them,
as by uncivilized peoples of our own day, to demoniac posses-
sion or to supernatural influence of some kind.

Their theory of madness was closely associated with their ideas
on divination and prophesy, w^hich will be touched upon later. As
to madness, we need only state that, according to the original
idea of the Greeks, seen, for instance, in the dialogues of Plato,
the “ divine " nature of madness was obviously due to the fact
that the insane person was “ possessed " {entheoSy katech6meno$) by
a supernatural being who caused him to go out of his mind. [25]
After the rise of polytheism in historical times, mental dis-
turbances were especially attributed to some of the personal
gods, for instance to Pan or Hecate, and above all to Dionysos,
who, from being the god of the wine and narcotic spirits,
naturally became the god of every mental excitement. Similarly,
various bodily sufferings were ascribed by the Greeks to super-
natural causes. A disease like epilepsy would tend particularly
to give rise to the idea of a possessing demon as its immediate
cause. To the Greeks, epilepsy was the “ sacred disease "
{kieros nosos) par excellence. In some cases it was ascribed to the
moon, but, whether directly or indirectly caused by the moon-
deity, it was always believed to be due to demoniac influence.
At the time of Hippocrates, in the fourth and fifth centuries B.c.,
which marked the beginnings of a scientific theory of medicine,

SPIRITS, DEMONS, GHOSTS 173

this belief seems to have been a matter of past history, to the
Greek physicians at least; but that it was by no means uncom-
mon in certain circles of the population is seen from his works.

Hippocrates begins his treatise On the Sacred Disease by the
statement that “ people have ascribed to it a divine nature and
a divine cause on account of their lacking knowledge and the
wonder it arouses, being different from other diseases hence
also, he adds, they try to cure it, not by natural means but by
purifications and incantations. The great Hellenic physician
realized the fact apparent in regard to primitive religion in
general, namely, that ignorance of the true nature of things and
events has been the mother of superstition. [26] The same
primitive view is even more clearly pointed out by a later writer
on medicine, Aretaeus from Kappadokia, who suggests that
epilepsy was called a sacred disease because of the belief that it
was caused by a demon entering the body of man. [27]

Every attentive reader of the New Testament knows how
familiar ideas of this kind were to the Jews at the beginning of
the Christian era. This view was inherited by the Christian
Church, appearing, for instance, in the writings of the apostolic
fathers. The Church was also responsible, in the first place, for
the inhumane treatment of insane persons which has been
characteristic of European peoples of culture up to the eighteenth
century.

The same practical interest which induces primitive man to
formulate an idea about the nature of diseases also leads him to
seek a cause for other remarkable events, especially unexpected
accidents, misfortunes, and losses, the causes of which are not
immediately clear to him. By a reasoning similar to that already
mentioned, every incident of this kind is ascribed to malevolent
spiritual influence ; its cause can only be found in a living agent,
visible or invisible. This theory of causation is gradudly ex-
tended to all objects and phenomena of nature, giving rise not
only to a general “ animistic ” view of the world but also to a
deep-seated belief in spiritual interference in all human affairs.
Writers dealing with the religion of primitive peoples have often
touched upon the general belief in spirits and demons as inter-
fering deeply in the practical life of the savage.

With eloquent words Sir James Frazer depicts the “ onmi-
presence of demons ” in his Golden Bough, “ To the imagina-
tion of the savage the world still teems with these motley beings

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

174

whom a more sober philosophy has discarded. Fairies and
goblins, ghosts and demons, still hover about him both waking
and sleeping. They dog his footsteps, dazzle his senses, enter
into him, harass and deceive and torment him in a thousand
freakish and mischievous ways. The mishaps that befall him,
the losses he sustains, the pains he has to endure, he commonly
sets down, if not to the magic of his enemies, to the spite or anger
or caprice of the spirits. Their constant presence wearies him,
their sleepless malignity exasperates him ; he longs with an un-
speakable longing to be rid of them altogether, and from time to
time, driven to bay, his patience utterly exhausted, he turns
fiercely on his persecutors and makes a desperate effort to chase
the whole pack of them from the land, to clear the air of their
swarming multitudes, that he may breathe more freely and go
on his way unmolested, at least for a time.” [28]

This picture, although on the >vhole correct, is still to a certain
degree exaggerated. In this, as in many other respects, the con-
sequences of human superstitions and prejudices are mitigated
by the experiences and exigencies of practical life. The mind of
the savage is by no means always occupied by thoughts of evil
spirits. He does not believe himself to be exposed at every step
to their treacherous attacks. What Dudley Kidd observes about
the Kafirs, that they “ certainly do not live in everlasting dread
of spirits, for the chief part of their life is not spent in thinking
at all ”, and that they are “ so easy-going that it would seem to
them too much burden to be for ever thinking of spirits ”, may,
I believe, be said of most lower peoples. Nevertheless the belief
in demons who interfere in human welfare and destiny plays so
important a role in the practical life of the savage that without
knowledge of it we should fail to understand not only their
religion, but also many of their customs and institutions.

It would be a tedious task to enumerate instances illustrating
this general savage belief in demons as carrying on the operations
of nature and affecting the life of man for good or ill. In fact,
it has been done by many other writers. It is easily compre-
hensible that the majority of the supernatural beings by whom
the savage imagines himself surrounded are looked upon as
by nature positively evil or harmful. This is due to the psycho-
logical fact that man always pays more attention to the cruel
and destructive powers of nature than to the good and bene-
ficial ones, and that at an early stage the sad experiences of life,

SPIRITS, DEMONS, GHOSTS 175

disease, calamity, distress, should have as their primary causes
the ideas of spiritual beings. By nature, primitive man is little
inclined on the whole to reflect upon the good he enjoys, whereas
any ill that befalls him attracts his attention and makes him
inquire into its causes. Only misfortunes and sufferings is it
that arouse his instinct of self-preservation and compels him
to think. If he experiences no disease or ill, if he is successful in
everything he undertakes, if he has enough food, he is contented
with his existence ; but he does not think about his prosperous
condition nor regard it as the gift of any superhuman powers.
Such a state of things, therefore, could hardly have led him to
ascribe the causes of events in the world to invisible spiritual
beings, anyhow not to the same degree as evil experiences.

There are statements of ethnologists which bear directly on
this point. Thus Im Thurn observes that the Indians of
Guiana accept all the good that befalls them either without
inquiry as to its cause or as the results of their own exertions.
On the other hand, they regard all ills as inflicted by malignant
spirits. According to the same writer, this view explains in some
measure the fact that, while the Indians believe both in harmless
and harmful spirits, the latter are considered specially active in
their power of affecting men and other beings ; on the contrary,
the former are very inactive in this respect. [29] Similarly two
well-known authorities on the Indians of Brazil tell us that they
do not acknowledge any cause of good or any god, merely an evil
principle. This is because everything good entirely escapes
their notice, whereas the bitter experiences of life leave an im-
pression. [30] We hear much the same, for instance, of the
negroes of West Africa as described by some ethnologists. [31]

Such statements, of course, must not be taken to mean that
the religion of the lower tribes is a pure demonology or “ devil-
worship It may be doubted whether any savage tribe exists
at present which does not, besides the evil spirits, also assume
the existence of spirits good and beneficial, and whose religious
view may not therefore be said to be to a certain extent dual-
istic. But to the primitive mind it is not only obvious that the
former are far more numerous but also far more active, and that
consequently demons play the more important part in practical
religion.

That the majority of the spirits are regarded as evil or mal-
evolent is due largely to another fact. The invisible spiritual

176 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

beings by whom the savage feels himself surrounded are identi*
cal by nature with those countless spirits or souls which formerly
inhabited the bodies of men and animals, and who after death
were unable to find a permanent abode in other material bodies.
These disembodied souls hover about in the air or dwell in the
deserts and dark forests ; from thence they issue, especially at
night, to disturb the peace of men. These demons it is who are
at work in those destructive natural phenomena, thunderstorms,
hurricanes, earthquakes, etc., which so strongly impress the
savage, or which cause public calamities like frost or drought,
pestilence, and so on.

Now, it is a well-known fact that the spirits of the dead in
general, independent of their character in life, are likely to turn
into more or less dangerous, redoubtable, and in certain cases
downrightly evil beings who seem to be striving continually to
harm the living in every imaginable way. I shall return to this
question later and elucidate the causes by which this radical
change in the character of the dead is brought about. In this
connection I wish only to point out that there are certain cate-
gories of spirits which by necessity become malevolent towards
the living and are universally regarded with dread by savage
peoples. That the spirits of strangers and enemies, for instance,
are universally feared and avoided as inimical and revengeful
beings needs no demonstration.

Similarly, it seems to be a general rule that spirits of those who
have suffered a sudden and violent death, even though they be
fellow- tribesmen, are changed into demons. These persons,
violently ejected against their will from this earthly life and
everything attaching them to it, naturally carry with them to the
next world an angry longing for revenge. This is all the more
likely to happen since, for many of them, the proper funeral
rites are not performed, on which the soul’s happiness in the other
world so greatly depends. According to the belief of the ancient
Finns, the souls changed into demons belonged particularly to
people who in life had been evil-doers separated from their kin,
but were those souls neglected after death, no sacrifices having
been offered them. They were supposed, therefore, to take
revenge upon the living by sending them disease. [32]

The belief in demons as being omnipresent, powerful, and
influencing the welfare of man has not been a characteristic
only of the religion of primitive peoples. It has survived in the

SPIRITS, DEMONS, GHOSTS 177

higher cultures, in polytheistic and even in monotheistic religions,
giving rise to a more or less dualistic view of the world. In this
respect I shall only recall the extent, for instance, to which the
religious consciousness of the classical peoples was pervaded by
the idea of divine or demoniacal interference in all human affairs.
Characteristic from this point of view were the “ unlucky ” or
“ inauspicious ” days singled out by both Greeks and Romans.
The Greeks called them “ apophrddes hemerai^ the Romans
religion diei. The origin of the belief in these ** unlucky ” or
“ black days was probably nothing more than the experiences
of life suggesting that special days were presided over by special
malevolent supernatural powers. If, on a certain day, a defeat
was suffered by the army, or some other calamity occurred fatal
to the community, the rashly drawn conclusion was, on that
particular day, some evil spirits were at work. [33] Such hasty
generalizations are very characteristic of a primitive mind. The
Greek who considered a day “ unlucky ” on which a misfortune
happened to occur, reasoned according to the same principle as
the savage who makes a “ fetish of anything associated with a
remarkable incident.

According to ancient Greek belief, as a matter of fact, there
were certain times when the countless supernatural beings who
peopled the universe and the under- world were supposed to rise
from their latent dwelling-places and swarm over the earth,
causing men all sorts of ills and calamities just as the evil spirits
once rose up from Pandora’s fatal box. One of the strictest laws
in ancient Athens was that such a day should be kept holy ; no
work was to be done, no court or assembly to be held. It was a

day of pollution ”, a day “ not even to be mentioned ”. To do
any work on it was to provoke the evil demons who ruled over
it and to bring manifold curses upon the town ; hence such a
person was called kakodaimonUtes^ “ one who invokes the evil
demons.” [34]

The Romans had a similar belief. A dies reUgiosus was a day
when the spirits of the dead (manes) were believed to issue forth
into the upper world through the mundus^ the name given to a
trench or entrance to a vault in the city of Romulus, looked upon
as the gate of Hell. On these days no public business might be
undertaken, no battle fought, no army conscripted. This taboo
was the same as that on death and corpses. It accounts for
the fact that the days of the ParentaUa in February and those
M

178 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

of the Lemuria in May were reUgiosi. They were “ days of the
souls ” the same as those recognized by many other peoples. To
the Greeks and the Romans, however, the “ religious days ”
were more particularly the days of evil spirits. To the Romans,
moreover, the days following the Kalends, the Nones and the
Ides of every month were “ black ** or “ unlucky It was
considered unlucky, therefore, for a Roman girl to marry on the
Kalends, the Nones and the Ides of any month. The pontiffs
had decreed these “ black because whenever the Roman
generals petitioned the gods for success in battle on these days,
disaster followed. [35]

As one sees, the higher polytheistic and monotheistic religions
have by no means been able to suppress the belief in evil spirits
and demons as operating in natural phenomena and causing
sickness, drought and pestilence, misfortunes, and other evils.
On the contrary, they have frequently had the effect of strength-
ening the belief in the influence of such supernatural agents,
beside the influence exerted by the actual gods. Thus demon-
ology formed an integrant part of religious or philosophical sys-
tems such as Platonism and Neoplatonism, as represented by men
like Plato, Plotinos, Jamblichus, and Porphyry. It was also pro-
pagated in the Early Christian Church by such great teachers as
Origen, Justinus the Martyr, Tertullianiis, and Augustinus. [36]
If the doctrines of these Christian Fathers prove that, even
for civilized mankind, it has taken centuries to arrive at the
notion of immutable laws of nature, we can hardly wonder that
the primitive theory of causation referred to in this chapter is
still adhered to by uncultured savages.

CHAPTER X

“ SUPREME BEINGS ” OF PRIMITIVE PEOPLES

P RIMITIVE Supreme Beings have been touched upon in
passing in a previous chapter. Together with “ totemism ”
and the Melanesian mana^ there are probably no more misused
terms in the modern science of religion than “ supreme beings
and “ primary monotheism On this point it is enough to
mention that a whole school of anthropologists, the German
culture-historj^ school, refuses to recognize as really scientific
any other theory as to the origin of religion other than that
which makes it originate in pure monotheism.

Consistent with this view, for instance, is that of a recent
ethnologist of this school, Gusinde. In a work on the Fuegians,
he treats under the heading “ Religion ’’ nothing but their
supposed “ monotheism ”, expressly excluding from the subject
their belief in spirits, whether good or bad, their cult of the
dead, invocation and so on. The same view was taken of
Australian aboriginal religion by the founder of the modem
theory of primary monotheism, Andrew Lang. He tried,
moreover, to show that there are similar traces of monotheism
among many other races at the most primitive level of culture.

A theory of this kind, of course, tends to attract adherents,
especially in theological circles. The best-known representative
of the old theory of primary monotheism in ethnology is
Father Schmidt, mentioned before in connection with the
culture-history school. Father Schmidt and his predecessor
Andrew Lang agree in regard to the results arrived at, and
mostly in regard to the methods used. The immoderate
idealization both of the Supreme Beings and of savage peoples
in general which was characteristic of Andrew Lang, was an
outflow of the romantic spirit which dominated him and led
him naturally to assume that “ the nobler set of ideas is more
ancient than the lower.” [i] Apart from this it would probably
be unjust to say that he was led to his conclusions merely or
mainly by a dogmatic interest.

IJQ

i8o PRIMITIVE RELIGION

The latter, however, is quite obvious in regard to Father
Schmidt, as has been frequently pointed out by his many
critics. [2] Starting from the purely theological dogma —
explicitly or implicitly forming the foundation for his theory —
of an original Divine Revelation to mankind, he maintains as
a well-established “ fact ” of modem ethnology, that mono-
theism was the original form of religion, defending his thesis
fanatically against the contrary opinions of “ evolutionists
or others.

One of Father Schmidt’s ablest critics, Professor Pettazoni of
Rome, remarked appropriately that the rigid scheme of primary
monotheism presented and maintained by him is a real bed of
Procmstes. To its measure all supernatural entities which are
capable of being described as Supreme Beings are made to con-
form, regardless of the great typological varieties they present.
Professor Pettazzoni adds that such a line of action is necessary
and logical for one w^ho starts from the dogmatic assumption
that the Supreme Being of a primitive people must needs be
interpreted as a monotheistic god. [3] One may wonder, how-
ever, whether too much attention has not been paid, both by
Professor Pettazoni and by other historians of religion, to
theories and interpretations of ethnological facts proceeding
from so obviously prejudiced a mind. At any rate in this short
survey of the savage Supreme Beings, I shall not dwell long
upon the theory set forth by Father Schmidt. The main thing
is to establish what ideas about these beings are actually held,
or were formerly held, in different parts of the world, and how
this particular set of ideas is related to other forms of primitive
religion.

One may say that it was in Australia that the Supreme Beings
were first “ discovered ” by Andrew Lang, or rather by his
informant the missionary A. W. Howitt. Ever since, the Aus-
tralian aborigines’ “ high gods ” have retained their central place
in discussions concerning these beings. The information Howitt
gives about the religion of the tribes of South-eastern Australia
and especially about their mysteries, into which he was himself
initiated, is no doubt of great importance. But it is evident
that both Andrew Lang and many other students of primitive
religion have greatly overestimated it. Its contents, owing to
the extent of Ae ground covered, necessarily consist of contri-
butions by correspondents, some of them untrained observers

“ SUPREME BEINGS ” i8i

whose statements must be treated with caution. What is still
more serious is the limitless generalization of Australian ideas
which we see again in this particular case. It seems to be taken as
a matter of course that the Australian aborigines are of greater
importance or interest from an anthropological point of view
than other primitive races, or that ideas and customs possibly
found among them must needs have world-wide application.

Other important works on the religion of the Australian
aborigines are those of Fison, W. E. Roth, Langloh Parker, and
notably Spencer and Gillen’s careful monographs on the tribes
of Central Australia, which were completed in 1911 by the work
of the German missionary Strehlow. The comprehensive picture
we get of the Australian Supreme Beings when the different
traits appearing in these works are correlated and subjected to
a critical analysis does not, it seems to me, correspond very
closely to the monotheistic moral high god depicted by Andrew
Lang and Father Schmidt. Rather is it the picture of a god
more human in his general character and more consistent with
primitive psychology.

The Australian Creators — beings like Mungangaua of the
Kumai, Daramulun of the Yuin, Baiame of the Kamilaroi, and
Altjira of the Arunta — are personified supernatural beings who
are revered as the ancestors of the black race and generally as
the makers of many objects, of men and animals, of plants and
natural phenomena. They are believed, moreover, to have
instituted, at some time in the past, the mystery ceremonies,
circumcision-dances, and other sacred rites. They do not always
appear in human shape but may also assume the shape of totem
animals, such as the kangaroo, the opossum rat, the giant
serpent, and so forth. Some Central Australian tribes believe
that these Creators, having in remote antiquity done their work,
were changed into those sacred instruments called churinga, or
into certain stones or trees. Formerly they lived on the earth,
but, having finished the creation, they ascended to a land in the
sky where they still remain.

In many cases the Australian “ All-father ” is represented as
a guardian of morality, who sanctions the rules and prohibitions
revealed to youths during initiation. Daramulun, “watch-
ing the youths from the sky is prompt, by disease and death,
to pxmish the breach of his ordinances, moral and ritual.
Generally, however, retribution follows after death; Baiame b

i 82

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

even said to reward the good with eternal happiness and to
punish the wicked in a hell of everlasting fire. The “ wicked
are persons who tell lies or kill men by striking them secretly, or
who are unkind to the old and sick — generally speaking, those
who break Baiame’s laws.

These may be said, I believe, to be the most essential char-
acteristics of the Australian Supreme Beings as described by
Andrew Lang and Father Schmidt. That the picture is greatly
exaggerated and idealized is acknowledged by all anthropologists
who approach the question with a critical and unprejudiced
mind. Of course there is no question of the beliefs in these
beings having arisen simply as the result of missionary teaching
or European influence. In certain cases, however, such an
influence is quite evident, especially as regards the moral
retribution after death which is said to come from Baiame, for
instance. The statements of missionaries about divine beings
with moral qualities of this kind, are always open to doubt and
must be treated with caution.

Apart from this there are, in Howitt’s own account of the
Supreme Being of the South-Eastern Australians, certain details
which seem to me to reveal his true human origin. “ This
supernatural being,” Howitt writes, “ by whatever name he is
known, is represented as having at one time dwelt on the earth,
but afterwards to have ascended to a land beyond the sky, where
he still remains observing mankind. As Daramulun, he is said
to be able to ” go anywhere and do anything He can be
invisible; but when he makes himself visible, it is in the form
of an old man of the Australian race. ... He has existed from
the beginning of things, and he still lives. But in being so he is
merely in that state in which, these aborigines believe, everyone
would be if not prematurely killed by evil magic. ... All that
can be said of him is that he is imagined as the ideal of those
qualities which are, according to their standard, virtues worthy
of being imitated. Such would be a man who is skilful in the
use of weapons of offence and defence, all-powerful in magic,
but generous and liberal to his people who does no injury or
violence to anyone, yet treats with severity any breaches of
custom and morality. Such is, according to my knowledge of
the Australian tribes, their ideal of a headman, and naturally it
is that of the master in the sky-country.” [4]

Again, Spencer and Gillen state of the Central Australian

“ SUPREME BEINGS ”

183

natives in general that “ they have no idea whatever of the
existence of any supreme being who is pleased if they follow
a certain line of what we call moral conduct, and displeased if
they do not so. They have not the vaguest idea of a personal
individual other than an actual living member of the tribe who
approves or disapproves of their conduct, so far as anything like
what we call moral is concerned. ... It must not, however, be
imagined that the Central Australian native has nothing in the
nature of a moral code. As a matter of fact he has a very strict
one, and during the initiation ceremonies the youth is told that
there are certain things which he must do and certain others
which he must not do, but he quite understands that any pun-
ishment for the infringement of these rules of conduct will come
from the older men, and not at all from any supreme being, of
whom he hears nothing whatever. . . . Any such idea as that
of a future life of happiness or the reverse, as a reward for
meritorious or as a punishment for blameworthy conduct, is
quite foreign to them. . . . We know of no tribe in which
there is a belief of any kind in a supreme being who rewards or
punishes the individual according to his moral behaviour, using
the word moral in the native sense.** [5] These statements,
coming from two ethnologists of the first rank, seem to me to
carry much weight.

Similarly A. C. Haddon states, as a result of the investigations
carried out by the Cambridge expedition in the islands of the
Torres Strait, that the natives of this region have no idea of a
Supreme Being. Their religious dogma is based as a belief in
culture-heroes who have introduced ceremonies, dances, and
feasts.

In view of the above statements, it seems to me hardly too
daring to set forth the hypothesis that the Australian Supreme
Being is simply a mythical ancestor, the headman of the clan,
who, after death, was raised to the rank of a divine being and
revered by the blacks as the originator of their culture in its
most important aspects, in certain cases even as the creator of
men, animals, plants, and so on. Having given his people its
institutions and rites he retired to the sky, where he still lives.
It is quite natural that this mythical ancestor should take an
interest in his laws and institutions being maintained and re-
spected and that consequently he should become, in a sense,
a guardian of morality.

i84 primitive RELIGION

Professor Pettazzoni has drawn special attention to the fact
that these “ high gods ” are conceived everywhere as celestial
beings. He points out, moreover, that it is precisely in their
connection with the heavens that we find the true explanation
of the various “ monotheistic ” attributes ascribed to the
Supreme Beings, their eternity, omnipotence, science, and
their creative power — in such cases where they really exist. [6]

But it is precisely these attributes which have often been
unduly exaggerated and idealized. In fact, even Father Schmidt
has had to acknowledge that, in regard to some of these attri-
butes, there are remarkable exceptions to be noted among
some of the lower peoples. But it has often been pointed out
that even those “ monotheistic ” characteristics which are really
attributed to the Supreme Beings are only relative, and repre-
sent no more than the consequences of the place assigned to
them in the world of nature. Thus Professor Pettazzoni rightly
points out that although a heaven-god naturally sees much and
knows much of what happens on the earth, he is by no means
omniscient. [7]

Again, of the Supreme Being of the Andamanese, Puluga,
Radcliffe-Brown remarks that he cannot be said to be om-
niscient; many things may happen which escape his attention.
“ Whenever they (the natives) do any of the things that dis-
please Puluga they seem to believe that there is a possibility
that Puluga may not discover what was been done.” [8] The
missionary Man himself, who was the Brst to acquaint us with
the highest god of the Andamanese, makes the significant state-
ment that “ he (Puluga) is regarded as omniscient toMle it is
day ”, [9] from which it clearly appears that his omniscience is
affected by the natural alternation of light and darkness.
Similar naturalistic limitations are attached, as Pettazzoni shows,
to the “ omniscience ” of many other primitive Supreme Beings.
As to the ” all-goodness,” which is also generally said to be one
of the characteristics of the Supreme Beings, it is, in many cases,
highly problematic; often they are stated to be indifferent to
hxunan affairs and human conduct, and in some cases, seem to
be regarded as downright evil and malevolent beings. [10]

Returning to the Australian aborigines, we may examine
further how far their ideas of “ the headman in the sky ” are
connected with animism. As we know, Andrew Lang strongly
objected to the theory which placed the savage “ high gods ”

" SUPREME BEINGS ” 185

in the category of animistic beings. The same view has been
maintained by those historians of religion who share his view as
to the “ unique ” character of these beings. Soderblom, for
instance, emphasizes the fact that the divinities which he prefers
to call Producers {Urheber) have nothing to do with animism.
“ Of spirits and souls there can be no question. Beings like Baiame
are clearly distinguished from the spirits which the same tribes
know and fear.” [ii] From this it follows, adds the author,
that they cannot be ancestors in the ordinary sense of the word.
On the whole, he says the Australians have neither ancestor-
worship in the strict sense of the word nor any general cult of
the dead. And the Supreme Beings themselves are not the
objects of any cult. [12]

These conclusions of Soderblom’s are not consistent with
actual facts. There are many statements, for instance, showing the
close connection of the Supreme Beings with the totemic ancestors
and with the mysterious instruments called churinga or bull-
roarers, which again are associated with purely animistic ideas.
Thus at the initiation ceremonies of the Central Australians,
Spencer and Gillen tell us that the bull-roarers resound every-
where, and that the women believe that the roaring is the sound of
the great spirit Twanyirika who has come to take the boys away.

This beUef, the authors say, is fundamentally the same among
all Australian tribes. Among the Kumai, for example, Howitt
states that the voice of Daramulun is in the bull-roarer; when-
ever the bull-roarer sounds, the natives believe that they hear
Daramulun himself. [13] From a primitive point of view this
means that the soul of Daramulun is in the sacred instrument,
a fact quite consistent with the use of the bull-roarer among
other primitive tribes. The Bororo of Central Brazil believe,
for instance, that the booming sound produced by the instru-
ment, when it is swung round, proceeds from the spirits which
it calls up. The Australians think that it is the ancestor in the
sky whose voice is heard in the churinga. On the other hand it
is significant that the sound of the churinga is also identified
with thunder: the tribes of South-eastern Australia believe that
when it thunders the ancestor in the sky is swinging his churinga ;
or, that the thunder is Daramulun ’s own voice. [14]

These ideas seem to show clearly that the Australian ancestor
or Father in the sky belongs to the same category of super-
natural beings as o^er souls and spirits. Th^ adso appears

i86 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

from the fact that, according to Howitt, Daramulun is spoken
of as living in the sky and ruling over the ghosts of the dead
Kumai. [15] It is natural that the Father in the sky should rule
over the spirits of the dead in the next life just as, in his capacity
of headman of the clan, he has ruled over the living on earth.

To me it seems not quite correct to assert that the Australians
have no kind of ancestor-worship, and that their Supreme Beings
are entirely devoid of any cult. There are, in fact, certain rites
and ceremonies which refer to the heavenly gods or “ All-
fathers ”, although — and this is characteristic of the Australians
— this cult is essentially of a magical nature. Mrs. Langloh
Parker was told, for example, that, in the Euahlayi tribe, prayers
are addressed to Byame at funerals for the souls of the dead and
that at some initiatory rites the oldest medicine-man present,
addresses a prayer to him asking him to give the people long life
as they have kept his law. [16] Of Daramulun, Howitt says that
although there is no worship of him, “ the dances round the
figure of clay and the invocation of his name by the medicine-
men certainly might have led up to it.” [17] Figures made of
logs are set up on the initiation ground to represent Baiame and
his wife; or the men throw blazing sticks at the women and
children to symbolize Daramulun coming to burn them. [18]

But in the churinga ceremonies above all, we have a primitive
magical rite by which these Supreme Beings are summoned in
just the same way, for instance, as in South America, where ghosts
and demons are invoked by the bull-roarer. We have a purely
magical ceremony of the same kind in the “ worship ” which
the Warramunga tribe pays to a mythical gigantic water-snake
and totem father called Wollunqua.

Wollunqua lives in a pool and once, according to tradition, he
came out and destroyed some men and women ; at last he was
obliged to retire under a shower of stones. To prevent him
from repeating his ravages they perform ceremomies by which
they propitiate and coerce him at the same time. The snake is
represented in different ways. One sacred object consists of an
oblong, snake-like roll of stalks wound round with human hair
and adorned with white down which a man wears on his head
during certain acts of the ceremonies. They also make a long
mound of wet sand and draw wavy bands on it to represent the
water-snake. Round this at night they sing and dance by the
light of fires until early morning. Then they attack the mound

“ SUPREME BEINGS ”

187

fiercely with their weapons and soon demolish it. If, shortly
afterwards, they hear thunder rumbling in the distance, they
declare that it is the voice of the water-snake saying that he is
pleased with what they have done and that he will send rain.
But if the remains of the ruined mound are left uncovered, he
growls, and his growl is a peal of thunder. When they hear it
they hasten to cover the ruins with branches lest the snake
should come and eat them up. [19] Wollunqua occupies in the
native mind the position of a dominant totem. He is evidently
on the way to become a real god or even a Supreme Being, as
appears from his association with thunder.

Magical rites like these and the churinga ceremonies which are
also associated with the Supreme Beings, seem to be character-
istic of the Australians, but are by no means limited to this con-
tinent. It is interesting to note that the Wollunqua ceremonies
are essentially the same as certain rites described by Wallace
among the Indians of North-West Brazil. At one of their great
feasts the natives made two huge artificial snakes of twigs and
bushes bound together with sipo (a creeper) and with heads
formed by bundles of leaves of the tree Cecropia, painted bright
red. They divided themselves into two parties of twelve or
fifteen each and, lifting the snakes on their shoulders, began
dancing. In the dance they imitated the undulations of the
serpent, raising the head and twisting the tail. All the time
kashiri (fermented manioc-beer) was being abundantly sup-
plied. [20] The meaning of this ceremony is not obscure.
Such dances, accompanied by excessive drinking of some fer-
mented beer, are generally performed after a death in South
America. Their object is to invoke or propitiate the spirit of the
animal whose image or figure is brought forth in the procession
or dance. The Indians believed that the soul of the dead was
reincarnated in the giant snake^ — a common belief in tropical
South America — and so they propitiated its spirit by the dance.
The giant snake was not the totem of the Indians, but it was a
supernatural being or demon who had to be conjured. Similarly
in Australia the giant snake of the Warramunga, although a
purely mythical being, was evidently looked upon as a reincar-
nation of one of those ancestors of the natives who had become
a “ Supreme Being'’.

We know that the Australians are by no means the only
primitive tribes among whom traces of “ primary monotheism ”

i88 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

have been found. There are statements about similar Supreme
Beings from Melanesia and Polynesia, Borneo, India, different
parts of Africa, America, and so forth. Generally, in Africa, for
instance, they are described as benevolent deities who created
all things, who live in the sky and now seldom interfere in
human affairs, who are not the objects of any cult and who as a
rule are entirely indifferent to the good or bad deeds of men.
In a few cases only are they described as moral beings who
watch the actions of men.

In order to be able to decide how far such ideas are really
genuine or how far the result of foreign influence, we must care-
folly scrutinize the sources from our knowledge. This naturally
presents great difliculties in regard to a continent like Africa.
The majority of the numerous travellers and missionaries
who, in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries,
travelled in West Africa, for instance, were evidently con-
vinced that the negroes really believed in one single omnipotent
and all-good divine being, the creator of the world. This
Supreme Being was not worshipped in any way simply because
he was regarded as too good to need any worship, whereas, on
the other hand, the negroes considered it necessary to propitiate
the evil spirits. Even in the nineteenth century most anthro-
pologists and historians of religion were of the opinion that the
religion of the negroes was a kind of “ monotheism ”, a view
which appears, for instance, in Waitz’s well-known Anthro-
pology. [21] On the other hand, Bosman, who was a com-
mercial traveller, takes a much more unprejudiced view of
this question. He expresses the opinion that the negroes’
belief in a Supreme Being is the result of their contact with
Europeans. [22]

This opinion seems to be conflrmed by the fact that the oldest
chronicler of the West African negroes, the Moorish geographer
Leo Africanus, who travelled in North and West Africa from
1505 to 1520, expressly states that they did not worship any
being who could be called a god. [23] In any case, in dealing
with such higher conceptions of religion as are found among the
African negroes, we always have to take into account a possible
Christian or Islamitic influence, which again makes it difficult
to arrive at positive results in regard to their Supreme Beings.

In general it may be said that the more attention modem
ethnological research pays to the statements of these older

“ SUPREME BEINGS ’’

189

missionaries and travellers, the more clearly unreliable they
become. Even in cases where the statements contain a kernd
of truth, the beliefs of the peoples concerned are deliberately pre-
sented in such a way as to make it possible for certain scientists to
defend the dogma of primary monotheism with “ ethnological ”
arguments.

A significant instance of this — besides what has been said
of the Australian “ high gods ’’ — are the statements of the
missionary E. H. Man as to the Supreme Being of the Andaman
islanders, Puluga. According to him this Supreme Being was
never bom and is immortal. He created the world and all it
contains. He is regarded as omniscient while it is day, knowing
even the thoughts of their hearts. He is angered by the com-
mission of certain sins — falsehood, theft, grave assault, murder,
adultery, and so on. He is the judge from whom each soul
receives its sentence after death. He sends the spirits of the
departed to a place comprising the whole area under the earth,
to await the resurrection, etc. N]

Man’s statements on this point, however, have been contra-
dicted by a later resident among the Andamanese, RadcliflFe-
Brown. He shows that the religious ideas of these natives have
been greatly exaggerated by Man. He states, for example, that
the tribes he visited do not believe in one, but in two supreme
beings, Bilika (Puluga) and Teria (Daria). Both are no more
than personifications of the two main winds blowing in the
islands, the first of the north-east monsoon, the second of the
south-west monsoon. Bilika is the principal deity and is thought
of as female, though later, among other tribes, this divinity is
conceived as a man. These deities have no moral qualities.
Originally Bilika was even regarded as malevolent to men. Bilika
is believed to send destructive storms, whereas Teria sends rain.
In spite of careful and repeated inquiries, Radcliffe-Brown could
not establish the fact that Puluga punished such sins as theft,
murder, and adultery. The only thing he punishes is the trans-
gression of certain ritual prohibitions, that, for instance, against
tip yams, cutting barala {Caryota sobolifera) during the
rains, or burning or melting bees-wax. Against these he takes
action by sending storms or a deluge. In particular Radcliffe-
Brown questions Man’s statement that Puluga is omniscient,
adding that certain of the native customs are direct in contra-
diction to any such belief. Not only is Puluga’s omniscience

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

190

limited to the day, i,e. he needs light to see what happens among
men ; but in general : “ Whenever they do any of the things
that displease Puluga they seem to believe that there is a possi-
bility that Puluga may not discover what has been done.*’ [25]

It is, in fact, an absurd assumption that so primitive a people
as the Andamanese should have reached the stage of considering
such subtle abstract notions as “ omniscience ”, “omnipresence”,
“ all-goodness”, as divine qualities, notions which even dog-
matic theology has arrived at only through the philosophical
speculations of centuries.

It is easier, perhaps, to control and analyse such statements
about Supreme Beings in reference to the New World. In this
respect it is important to note that the “ Great Spirit ”, so often
mentioned in accounts of the religion of the North American
Indians, has been unable to retain the place as a moral Supreme
Being assigned to him by earlier travellers and missionaries.
Even among them, there seems to have been a division of opinion
as to the attributes to be ascribed to him and his relation to the
world and mankind.

Schoolcraft, for instance, asserts that in the oral traditions of
the Indians there is no attempt “ to make man accountable to
him, here or hereafter, for aberrations from virtue, goodwill,
truth, or any form of moral right. With benevolence and pity as
prime attributes the Great Transcendental Spirit of the Indian
does not take upon him a righteous administration of the world’s
affairs, but on the contrary, leaves it to be filled, and its affairs
in reality governed, by demons and fiends in human form.” [26]
On the other hand, for instance, Morgan states of the Iroquois
that their most essential moral precepts “ were taught as the
will of the Great Spirit, and obedience to their requirements as
acceptable in his sight.” [27] Here, as elsewhere, statements
making the Supreme Being the source of moral retribution in
this or the after-life, must be treated with great caution.

Further, it is important to note that, when examined more
closely, the Great Spirit of the North American Indians has,
in some cases, at least turned out to be not a personal and in-
dividual being at all, but simply an impersonal natural power.
A fruitful source of error, as pointed out by Mr. Dorsey, has
been a misunderstanding of native terms and phrases, an ob-
servation, in fact, which does not hold true only of the North
American Indians. The Dacotah word wakanda^ translated as

“ SUPREME BEINGS ’’

191

** Great Spirit means simply “mystery”, or “mysterious”,
and signifies rather a quality than a definite entity. Among
many tribes the sun is tvakanda^ among the same tribes the moon
is wakanday and so are thunder, lightning, the stars, the winds,
as also various animals, trees and inanimate objects or places of
a striking character; even a man, especially a medicine-man,
may be considered wakanda. This statement is specially inter-
esting because many parallels to it would be adduced from other
parts of the world. [28]

As to the ideas of the South American Indians, I can speak
from personal experience. Having studied the intellectual
culture and religion of the Indians in different parts of the con-
tinent for several years, I am thoroughly convinced that, among
tribes unaffected by missionary teaching and European influence,
there is no belief in a moral Supreme Being of the kind assumed
by the culture-history school. Among some comparatively
advanced tribes there are undoubtedly ideas about an Earth-
mother or about masculine Great Spirits of the vegetation who
rule the trees and plants and are appealed to by their wor-
shippers for a rich harvest. Usually they are honoured at the
same time as the ancestors of the Indian race and as founders
of its general culture.

Such a Supreme Being, for instance, is the great ancestral
spirit of the Uitdto, Nainuema, worshipped as the creator of the
world, and particularly as the father of plants and animals.
Every year he reveals himself to the Indians in the growth of the
vegetation. His soul resides in the individual trees and plants,
and after the harvest he goes back to the under-world. Conse-
quently the Indians are able to say that during the time that
there are no fruits, these stay with the Father under the earth.
The souls {komike) of the fruits and plantations are identical
with that of the Father. [29] Here we have a development of
ideas characteristic of the higher tribes of South America: the
individual plant spirits, ascribed to every tree or plant, are made
subject to a god of vegetation reigning over them. Supreme
Beings of this kind, for instance, are the famous “ Great Spirit ”
of the Uaupes Indians in North-West Brazil, Yurupary, and the
deity of the Indians of the Orinoco, Cachimana, associated with
certain interesting mystery ceremonies. [30]

Again, the Jibaro Indians of Eastern Ecuador and Peru have
their Earth-mother Nungiii and her consort Shakaema, who are

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

192

looked upon and worshipped as the founders of the whole Jibaro
culture. The ideas about these Supreme Beings have the
advantage of being absolutely genuine, and show us the religious
state the primitive Indians may attain without being influenced
from outside. [31]

Far otherwise is it, for instance, with such natives as the
Indians of the Tierra del Fuego, whose “ ethical monotheism”
has been the object of so much discussion in recent years.
On the whole, the Fuegians seem to be almost the only South
American tribe in which anthropologists and historians of re-
ligion have taken any interest. This is a pity, because these very
tribes (the Jahgans and the Onas) have also been influenced to
such an extent by Christian ideas that such religious ideas as
they now hold cannot possibly be taken as representing their
original beliefs, still less as typical of the religion of the South
American Indians. I have pointed out this fact before, but
it deserves especial emphasis when we start to examine the
lofty religious ideas recently ascribed to them by two Catholic
ethnologists of the culture-history school.

The statement, upon which Andrew Lang years ago founded
his theory of Fuegian monotheism, has been scrutinized in a
previous chapter and found to be wholly untrustworthy. Some
twelve years ago, however, the same theory was revived with
special reference to the Jahgans or Yamanas by Father Koppers,
who spent about four mondis among these natives, and later by
Father Gusinde, who also studied the Onas and the Alakaluf
Both these ethnologists were unanimous in ascribing to all
Fuegian tribes a “ pure ethical monotheism ” of much the
same kind as the culture-history school claims to have found
among several other savage tribes belonging to what has been
termed the Urkultur. Much fuss has been made about these
“ discoveries ” by the said ethnologists and by the school to
which they belong. Father Koppers calls the discovery of the
monotheism of the Jahgans “ the most interesting and the most
important sensation within the field of modem comparative
science of religion ” ! The same extraordinary importance is
ascribed by Father Gusinde to his own studies of the religion
of the Ona or Selkman Indians. [32]

These excessive pretensions appear somewhat curious when we
consider the very short time both Koppers and Gusinde actually
spent studying die Fuegian tribes, and the radical contradiction

“ SUPREME BEINGS ” 193

in which their statements stand to the accounts of other writers
possessing a much more thorough knowledge of them.

In the beginning of 1922 Koppers and Gusinde, two young
and inexperienced ethnologists, stayed for about four months
among the half-civilized Jahgans, and Gusinde, during the four
journeys made to the Tierra del Fuego, stayed in all for about
four months among the Onas. The repeated statements of both
ethnologists that both the Jahgans and the Onas belong to “ the
most primitive representatives of the human race ” [33] can
hardly be taken seriously by anybody who knows the civilizing
work that both Catholic and Protestant missionaries have done
among them for many decades. The Anglican mission was
established among the Jahgans in 1858, and the Rev. T. Bridges
worked among them for no less than forty years, teaching them
the Christian faith and trj 4 ng in every way to civilize them.
Again the first Catholic mission was founded among the Onas
or Selknam in 1889 and the second in 1893. Since that time
the Onas have rapidly been losing both their independence
and their “ savage character. Neither Koppers nor Gusinde,
therefore, has seen the Fuegians in their natural state. What
these travellers actually saw were the last renmants of a dying
native race, ill-treated during centuries by the superior white
race, deprived of its independence, “ civilized and christianized
to such an extent that, in 1920, it must have been impossible
to catch anything but glimpses of their original native
culture.

This is confirmed by one of Koppers* and Gusinde’s col-
leagues, Father A. Agostini, [34] who spent ten years in the
Tierra del Fuego, and by other persons who have recently
visited these regions. Among these I mention members of the
1928 Finnish geographical expedition to Tierra del Fuego, who
could fully confirm the above facts. It appears, moreover, from
Father Agostini’s work that the last Clocketen feast of the Onas
was held in 1913 — i.e. several years before Father Gusinde
visited the Onas — and that the only Europeans who have wit-
nessed them are the brothers Lucas and William Bridges. [35]
Owing to their knowledge of the language and customs of the
Indians these men also succeeded in penetrating into the secret
of these ceremonies.

It is against this background that one must review the state-
ments of Fathers Koppers and Gusinde respecting the “ ethical

N

194 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

monotheism of the Fuegians. On this point one of their
critics, Dr. Fahrenfort, has stamped their works as wholly worth-
less because of their obvious “ bias ” [36] ; another, Professor
Pettazzoni, thinks that they can be accepted as having a certain
value only if we bear in mind that the beliefs ascribed to the
tribes in question do not refer to the period before the intro-
duction of Christianity, but show an amalgamation of old heathen
and more recent Christian ideas. [37] While agreeing on the
whole with Professor Pettazzoni, I should like to emphasize the
fact that the works referred to can be used only most critically
and be credited only in such matters where their statements are
confirmed by those of others who have been able to make
personal observations among these half-civilized Indians.

Our most trustworthy authority on the Fuegians, particularly
on the Jahgans, is unquestionably the Rev. Thomas Bridges.
But though he has compiled the most complete vocabulary ever
noted down from an Indian tribe in South America, he un-
fortunately recorded little about their customs and religion,
which he knew so intimately. This loss to science cannot be
replaced by the more or less transient observations of modern
travellers, even though they publish the results of their studies in
giant volumes like Father Gusinde’s last book on the Selknam. [38]

Bridges lived among the Jahgans for no less than forty years,
and expressly states that they have no idea of a Supreme Being.
Bridges expresses what he found to be the essence of the Jahgan
religion, in the following wwds: “The Indians believe in
ghosts, in wild men of the woods, called kanoosh; they have a
tradition of the flood ; they believe in the immortality of the soul.
But they have no knowledge of God, no thought of a future
state, either of reward or punishment. Their word for ghost is
cujpik (cushpich), w^hich is also an adjective signifying frightful,
awful.” [39] That this cujpik is evidently identical with what
Fitzroy called the “great black man of the wood”, has been
shown before. From Bridges’ short summary it appears that
the religion of the Fuegians is an animism very similar to that
found among other South American tribes, and more particu-
larly among the Chaco Indians, who, culturally, arc closely
related to the Fuegians. The statement that the Jahgans do not
believe in any “ God ” (supreme being) was also confirmed for
me by the Scotch missionary, Barbrooke Grubb, who spent
three years among the Jahgans.

“ SUPREME BEINGS ”

*95

Father Koppers now introduces a new Supreme Being, a
monotheistic god, under the name of Watauinewa, to whom the
usual attributes of such beings are given : he is eternal, omni-
potent, omniscient, righteous, and so forth. [40] Most of these
qualities, however, appear to be of a somewhat relative nature
as has been shown by Professor Pettazzoni.

This naay be said of his “ righteousness On this point, in par-
ticular, the statements of Koppers and Gusinde are, in fact, clearly
contradictory. On the one hand wholly impartial righteousness
is ascribed to him; “ arbitrary actions are unknown to him ”.
The Indians’ firm belief in Watauinewa’s kindness to men
inspires them with such childlike confidence that they call
him “ Father ” and address him with the same filial reverence
as they would an earthly parent. On the other hand, Watauinewa
is said to be the author of many evils which he apparently sends
in a most arbitrary way: he may send good weather, but he is
also responsible for the storms and bad weather with which the
Fuegians are so often tormented. Above all he sends disease
and death, not as a merited punishment, but simply because of
his capricious mood. The consequence is that when a death
takes place, the Indians, far from finding anything “ righteous ”
in it, make him bitter reproaches, insult him, and call him “ the
murderer in the heaven ”, a description by which he is, in fact,
conunonly known. [41]

Professor Pettazzoni has tried to show that these contradictory
traits in the personality of the Supreme Being of the Jahgans
can be explained from the fact that, on the one hand, Wataui-
newa is identical with the evil spirit, Cuspic (Cujpik) of Fitzroy
and Bove, while on the other hand he has been invested in modem
times with attributes ascribed to the Christian God. [42] The
latter theory is perfectly consistent with the repeated declaration
of the Jahgans that “ Watauinewa is like God, like the Christian
God.” [43] As to Cuspic, he is, of course, in origin not a
“ supreme being ” or personal god at all, but simply an evil
spirit or soul of the kind believed in by all South American
Indians. His character of a personal being is of later origin like
the attributes of goodness, omniscience, etc., now supposed to
be given to the being called Watauinewa.

Ai to the word Watauinewa, still more may be said. It is clear
that if the Jahgans had really had a belief in a Supreme God by
this name, a man like Bridges would have known about him.

196 PRIMITIVE RELIGION

It is absurd to assume that such a belief could have escaped a
missionary who resided for forty years among them, whereas it
was revealed immediately to two inexperienced ethnologists who
visited them for a few months. It is interesting to note that the
word watauinewa (watatdnaxoo) was, in fact, known to Bridges;
it occurs in his great vocabulary with the meaning “ the ancient
one who changes not. A suitable term for God indicative of
his eternity and unchangeableness.” [44] Since Bridges ex-
pressly states that the Jahgans have no genuine idea of a god of
the kind described by Koppers and Gusinde, it seems obvious
that the word Watauinewa was introduced by himself “ as a
suitable term ” for the God with whom he — like all mission-
aries — wished to make the Indians acquainted.

That watauinewa is really a suitable term for a Supreme Being
appears from the fact that it means “ old ”, “ very old ”. There
are other names of gods in South America which have the same
derivation ; it is a common thing for the Indians to use names
meaning ” very old ” of the spirits of their ancestors who are
the objects of a cult. The Jibaro word orAtama (from aruta, old)
denotes, for instance, the spirits of their dead ancestors who were
great warriors and medicine-men, and who are invoked by the
Indians in certain important religious ceremonies. [45] None of
these artitama, however, has yet been developed into a Supreme
Being, and the word arutama consequently is not a proper noun.
On the other hand, this change has taken place to a certain ex-
tent with the Aittah Talak of the Mataco Indians in the Chaco,
whom I also had an opportunity of studying. Taldk in the
Mataco language means ” very old ”, and aittdh taldk is the
name of the personal guardian spirit whom the medicine-man
invokes when he wants to cure sick people. Originally the
aittdh of the Mataco signify simply the spirits of the dead, but
to every medicine-man his own guardian spirit {aittdh taldk)
appears as a sort of Supreme Being. [46] Now according to the
belief of all South American Indians the medicine-men not only
cure sickness but are also credited with the power of sending
sickness. No tribes who have kept up their genuine ideas attribute
sickness to a Supreme Being. Therefore, when Watauinewa, as
described by Koppers and Gtisinde, sends disease and death, this
peculiarity is most naturally explained from the fact that Wataui-
newa “ the murderer in the heaven ”, has been invested with the
power commonly ascribed to the medicine-men, or their spirits.

“ SUPREME BEINGS ”

197

This seems to me the most probable solution of the Wataui-
newa problem. I may add that none of the ideas of the kind
referred to above can be traced among the Chaco Indians, who
are closely related to the Fuegians but much more primitive.
Neither do the Choroti nor the Mataco, studied by myself, nor
the Lenguas studied by Mr. Grubb, possess such Supreme
Beings. Among the Tobas I traced the belief in two deities,
one good and one bad, but they are far from being anything like
the Watauinewa or Temaukel of the Fuegians as far as I can
understand. [47] An “ ethical monotheism ” such as that as-
cribed to the half-civilized natives of the Tierra del Fuego by
Fathers Koppers and Gusinde, is radically at variance with the
mental state and religion of those South American Indians who
have in the main retained their genuine native culture.

The same may be said of the Supreme Being of the Onas,
Temaukel, who likewise on essential points has been misinter-
preted by Father Gusinde. In general, it may be fitting to point
out the curious way in which Koppers and Gusinde confound
the concepts “monotheism” and “Supreme Being,” just as if an
existing belief in a mythic ” god in the sky ” who is the object
of no cult, would justify us in characterizing an essentially
animistic religion with magical invocations and other primitive
cult forms as ” monotheistic ”. [48]

We may from what has been stated in the last pages, be able
to form a general opinion about the belief in Supreme Beings
in South America. Ideas of Creators and culture-heroes are
certainly found among several tribes, just as they are among the
Australian aborigines. There are many cases of tribes which
have attempted to formulate a theory as to the origin of their
culture. They want to find an answer to the question who has
given them useful plants, implements, and weapons, who has
taught them to cultivate the ground, to spin, weave, and so forth.
Sometimes they even want to know how their own race has come
into being. Answers to such questions are given in myths about
mighty ancestors and chiefs who formerly lived among them
but later, from one reason or another, retired from their people,
either up to the sky, or down to the under-world where diey
still exist. They are never conceived as moral beings of the
kind described by Andrew Lang and the Culture-History School,
although, of course, the belief in such tribal culture-heroes may
have a certain moral influence on the practical life of the

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

198

Indians. And the fact that, as a general rule, they are not the
objects of any cult, of course greatly lessens their religious
importance.

As pointed out before, Sdderblom prefers to call these Supreme
Beings “ Producers (Urheber). According to his opinion they
are an expression of a need, felt even by primitive peoples, to
explain the origin of men and of things, of rites and ceremonies,
in short, of everything they find requires explanation. This
author strongly emphasizes the impossibility of referring these
Supreme Beings to any known category of supernatural entities :
they are neither nature-gods nor ancestors, they have nothing
whatever to do with souls or spirits. They form a category by
themselves. [49] I have tried to show that this assertion does
not hold true of the Australian “ Producers I feel, and am
convinced, that its falsity could be demonstrated equally with
elsewhere. It is expressly stated, for instance, of the culture-
hero of the Uitdto Indians, called Nainuema, that every year
he reveals himself in the flowers and fruits of the plants. “ The
soul of the Father is in the fruits and the plants, and after the
harvest he goes back to the under- world.” This is surely pure
animism. The same ideas are entertained by the Jibaros about
their Supreme Beings, the Earth-mother Nungiii and her
husband Shakaema.

In his theory of the “ Producers ”, Soderblom has made the
same mistake as most other writers on the question, that of un-
duly generalizing the ideas he claims to have found in a single
case. He starts from the assumption that these “ Producers ”
are of exactly the same character among all primitive peoples,
and that consequently it is possible to explain them all on the
same principle. This is by no means the case, however. On the
contrary, it seems to me that in different parts of the world they
show considerable differences, and it cannot be taken for granted
that they have the same origin everywhere. Some peoples re-
gard the Supreme Beings as Creators or Producers, others not;
some think they continue to take an interest in the course of
nature and in the actions of men, whereas others assume that
they have retired, in a deistic way, from the world and are now
leading a life of complete passivity. Among some peoples they
can be said to form part of a living religion and are the objects
of a real cult, whereas among others they resemble rather
mythological figures, around whom popular imagination has

" SUPREME BEINGS ” 199

spun its motley tissue of legends, and whose moral character in
many cases is of the most dubious nature.

Even Professor Preuss shows the same tendency to generalize
when he interprets the Supreme Beings as personifications of
the Order of the World and leaders of the processes of
nature. [50] 1 suggest that those primitive peoples whose

imagination has created beings of this kind have hardly been
familiar with the idea of an Order of the World, At any rate,
in some cases, these beings represent the very opposite of a
cosmic Order. On the contrary, in some cases, they are re-
garded as the authors of all disharmony, of all suffering and
everything that is evil in the world. TTiis may be said, for
instance, of the Supreme Beings of the Kamtchadales, if we
may trust some old travellers. They have a notion about a
Supreme Being, called Kutcha, but their ideas concerning him
are “ absurd, ridiculous, and shocking to a humanized mind ”.
Among other things they say : if he had been wise and reason-
able, he would have created the world much better — ^not made
so many steep hills, so many small and rapid rivers, so much
rain, and so many storms. In all their troubles they upbraid
and blaspheme him. [5 1] The Toba Indians of the Gran Chaco
have much the same idea of their Supreme Being whom they
call Kaloaraik, “ the Evil One ”. [52]

Even though, as we have seen, the cult of a Supreme Being is
not always entirely lacking among primitive peoples, still this cult
is mostly of subordinate importance. This, of course, is not, as
Andrew Lang assumed, due to their standing morally so high
that they “ despise offerings and only care for obedience ”, but
to the fact that as a rule they are too far off to have any influence
on human affairs. Professor Preuss rightly points out that the
“ high gods ” become the objects of cult in proportion as they
enter into relation to some important object of nature. Many of
them, in fact, are more or less intimately associated, not only with
the heaven or the firmament in general, but particularly with
heavenly bodies such as the sun and the moon, or with fire, rain,
and vegetation itself. It is natural, for instance, that a Supreme
God who rules over rain and vegetation should become the object
of worship. But Supreme Beings of this character are evidently
exceptional.

Only such supernatural beings as are believed actively to
interfere in the destiny of men belong to tiving religion. Beside

200

PRIMITIVE RELIGION

the lower spirits and demons who, because of the interest they
take in human affairs, are the objects of a real cult or magical
conjurations, the primitive “ Fathers ” and Creators play on the
whole only a subordinate rdle. To decree, as does the culture-
history school, that only the belief in the latter, with the faint
traces of worship to which it gives rise among a few peoples,
constitutes “ real ” religion, is to take an entirely arbitrary and
erroneotis view of primitive religion as a whole. Still more un-
justifiable is the view which sees in the Supreme Beings traces
of an original “ monotheism

RELIGIOUS CULT

CHAPTER XI

THE ORIGIN OF RITUAL. MAGIC AND RELIGION

H aving once arrived at a plausible theory of the origin of
the belief in a supernatural world, an unseen world of souls,
spirits, and demons, we have less difficulty in understanding how
human beings came to worship these invisible powers. Taking
religion as a whole, it is obvious that ritual forms the most
important part of it. The varying ideas of spirits and gods
formed by man in the course of evolution may be of great
psychological interest, but, at this formation, the intellectual
faculties of the human mind mainly have been at work, whereas
it is in rites and observances that religious sentiment can be
most clearly seen.

From the evidence already quoted, we may conclude that it
was a purely practical interest which originally induced man to
draw near and enter into relations with the spiritual powers.
Having observed that his fate depended on the goodwill of
mysterious spiritual beings, he naturally began to think of some
means of entering into relation with them. However dimly these
beings are conceived even by the savage of to-day, they are always
more or less moulded in the human likeness. TTiey are mostly
invisible, it is true, and always possess a power exceeding that of an
ordinary^ man. But, on the whole, they have the same mental
and physical characteristics, a will and judgment that may be
influenced by appropriate means, bodily wants and appetites,
through the satisfaction of which man may appease their anger
and gain their favour.

Clearly under such circumstances, primitive religious ritual
must be essentially an expression of man’s instinct of self-
preservation, in other words, of his desire to make existence
as tolerable as possible. The relation between man and the
supernatural powers which he tries to influence by his invo-
cations, prayers, and offerings is not originally an ethical relation.

201

202

RELIGIOUS CULT

Primitive peoples usually regard spirits, if not as downright
bad, nevertheless as more or less evil, or at any rate harmful
beings, who must be propitiated if it is not possible to constrain
them.

According to an old view, already expressed by the philos-
ophers and poets of antiquity, it was fear that originally created
religion. The view is somewhat prejudiced; religion, of course,
cannot have sprung from fear alone. But undoubtedly in early
times this emotion was the main motive of religious worship,
just as it is among the lower cultures at the present day. Theo-
rists of comparative religion have tried in vain to confute this
thesis by pointing out that reverence, gratitude, and love are just
as natural feelings as their opposites and therefore must have
always played their part in man’s relation to supernatural
powers, [i] Such an objection reveals an insufficient know-
ledge of primitive psychology. Wherever ethnologists have had
an opportunity of studying the actual religious life of primitive
peoples, without being biassed by preconceived theories, they
have been able to confirm the relative truth of the fear thesis.

This does not imply, of couree, that the earliest worship was
merely the expression of abject terror and despair. Its objects,
although generally conceived as harmful, were nevertheless not
devils from whom, whatever the offerings made to them, nothing
but suffering could be expected. The great truth implied in the
Greek myth of Pandora, as told by Hesiod, may be referred to
in this respect. Pandora, having been formed by Hephaistos,
was endowed by Zeus with a mysterious box containing all sorts
of evil but also, at the bottom, hope. The religious view of
primitive man was not entirely pessimistic. Although feeling
himself surrounded by innumerable evils in the shape of invisible
spiritual powers, still he did not despair. There was the hope
that by offerings and supplications, their wrath could be appeased
and their baleful influence averted, at least for a time. And
so the belief gradually developed that by such means he could
secure their favour and obtain benefits from them.

That primitive worship has primarily a practical aim is
seen from the fact that the lower peoples generally worship only
those spirits or deities who are supposed to influence human
affairs. The real reason why the Supreme Beings are not, as a
rule, worshipped, is their indifference to the course of nature and
the life of man. But in the case of those spirits who are believed

THE ORIGIN OF RITUAL

203

to interfere in human life, a distinction is made between those
regarded as evil or harmful and those who are good. Among the
West African negroes, the former, for instance, are the principle
objects of worship. The good spirits, they say, need not be
worshipped because they do no harm to mankind. [2] Much
the same is stated of many other uncivilized peoples. Neverthe-
less, besides the attempts to appease or control evil spirits, we
generally find, among somewhat higher peoples, anyhow, a
species of cult, consisting of prayer and offerings, which has for
its object to gain positive material benefits from spirits or real
gods.

The practical religion of primitive peoples consists partly in
the magical rites directed to the control of demons who cause
disease and death and other evils, partly in a worship of nature-
spirits or spirits of dead ancestors in which the magical element
may be more or less strongly represented. Where a cult con-
nected with “ Supreme Being ” is foimd, it falls as a rule into the
category of “ ancestor worship ”. The cult of the dead will be
considered separately later. First we shall deal with other spiritual
beings who, whether in origin disembodied souls or not, are at
any rate conceived as supernatural beings of a more general
character.

The general rule seems to be that the lower the stage a people
occupies in culture, the more its dealings with the supernatural
powers assume the character of magic. On the other hand, this
statement does not imply — as has been contended by Sir James
Frazer — that a definite distinction could be made between a primi-
tive purely magical stage and a later stage of religion in the evolution
of human thought. Even the pre-animists contend that man
tried to control supernatural powers by magical means before
he learnt to worship personal spiritual beings by religious rites.
That this should have been the case is hardly probable. Even
magic always presupposes a certain technique, however primitive,
while the idea that a supernatural being may be influenced by a
gift or prayer is in itself so simple that it must have been familiar
even to primeval man.

From a psychological point of view, however, we may assume
that there was a time in the history of man when, dealing with
evil or harmful spiritual powers he did not, at any rate exclusively,
resort either to magical defences or to ritual activity in the form
of offerings and prayers.

RELIGIOUS CULT

204

As the first impulse of the animal confronted with things from
which it apprehends danger is to run away or hide itself, so
primitive man at first probably tried to avoid the harmful spirits
as far as possible and to escape their evil influence by hiding
himself from them or by threatening them. This is the attitude,
in fact, certain peoples of low cultures still adopt towards the
evil spirits. The Indians of South America, as I have stated
before, imagine that during thunderstorms the spirits of their
dead enemies are rushing through the clouds, and attacking
their villages. Consequently, in the Chaco, every time a burst of
thunder is heard, the Indians, seated in their huts, begin to scream
loudly in order to frighten away the molesting supernatural
visitors. During violent thunderstorms, the Jibaro Indians are
seen brandishing their lances against the sky, springing in the
air, shouting and challenging their invisible supernatural assail-
ants with the same words as they use in defying their natural
enemies: “ Come on, we are ready to receive you! ’’ [3] It is
a well-known fact that primitive peoples commonly try to drive
away evil spirits by shouting and generally making a noise. But
one can hardly describe these spontaneous expressions of the
instinct of self-preservation as a process of magical control,
although, being often repeated in the same form, they may
gradually develop into a sort of magical formula.

Further, one learns of some Australian aborigines that, besides
believing in a host of malignant spirits, included under the
general name In-gna, they also believe in a separate spirit
War-roo-goora. But as in the case of the other spiritual
beings, they do not seek to propitiate this demon, and, “ when
he vents his malignity to the utmost, they rather strive to
hide themselves from his fury than to gain his goodwill.
During violent thunderstorms their fear of War-roo-goora
overpowers their dread of the subordinate In-gnas and they
seek shelter in the haunted caves to screen themselves. There,
in silent terror they prostrate themselves with their faces to
the ground, waiting until the spirit, having expended his fury,
shall retire without having discovered the place, of their con-
cealment.*’ [4] Many primitive tribes try to evade the evil
spirits on a critical occasion by keeping strict silence — a form
of behaviour in which a primitive instinct likewise finds
expression.

As to magic, it is a well-known fact that it does not dis-

THE ORIGIN OF RITUAL 205

appear with the development of culture. It plays an important
part even in polytheistic and monotheistic religions, in which
the ritual associated with demons is radically opposed to the
cult proper. Every polytheistic religion tends to become more
or less dualistic, and in many cases the gods are appealed to
for help and protection against the evil demons.

One sees, from previous statements, that the essential
difference between magic and religion is this. Religion means
a relation to beings endowed with will and more or less person-
ally conceived, where as in magic there is a relation only to
supernatural mechanical powers. In religion man is trying
to influence the will of supernatural beings by natural means —
by offering them gifts, by flattering them, by humiliating
himself, and so on ; in magic he is trying to influence them by
supernatural means, by using mechanical powers which they
cannot resist. Dr. Westermarck, [5] with whom, on the whole,
we may agree, formulates the difference between magic and
religion in this way.

Still it must be pointed out at once that when magical powers
are used with reference to supernatural beings, their purpose
is not always of constraint or coercion. There are numerous
rites, half magical, half religious, which have as their only
object to augment, in a more or less mechanical way, the
power of the gods so as to make them able to comply with the
desires of man. To this class, for instance, belongs a category
of sacrifices, among others, human sacrifices, overlooked by
Dr. Westermarck, as we shall see later on. Even in what is
generally called “ worship ”, with prayer and sacrifice as its
main forms, there may thus exist a strong magical element.
Accordingly, magic and religion are associated in many ways,
especially at lower stages of evolution.

Closely connected with the question of the relation between
magic and religion, is that of the relation between priests and
sorcerers. The general opinion is that no certain line of
demarcation can be drawn between these two functionaries
of primitive societies ; the activity of both comprises essentially
the same kinds of action. This confusion of the terms “ priest ”
and “ sorcerer ” occurs, for instance, in Dr. Landtman’s treatise
on Primitive Priesthood. Both names are used indiscriminately,
without a closer examination of the functions pertaining to
each. [6] Where this is done, the essential difference between

2o6

RELIGIOUS CULT

priest and sorcerer will be clearly seen. The misunderstanding
which has led to their being confused is in part due to the un-
certain terminology prevailing in sociological literature. Seeing
among savage peoples, persons professionally exercising magicd
or religious functions, travellers and missionaries, without
examining the nature of their actions more closely, called them
sometimes “ sorcerers ”, “ medicine-men ”, “ magicians ”,
“ shamans”, and so forth, sometimes again “ priests ”.

We must take the word ” priest ”, however, in the sense
usual among highly-developed cultures: by it is understood
a person who, in a higher polytheistic or monotheistic religion,
acts as a mediator between the people and its god or gods,
performing real religious actions, above all those of prayer
and sacrifice. Into these rites there may certainly enter a
magical element, but even then they can be distinguished
fundamentally from the exorcism of evil spirits and other
purely magical actions performed by the real sorcerer. The
sorcerers or medicine-men of primitive societies are not priests,
but primarily diviners, or soothsayers, and physicians, and in
some cases rain-makers. Since, however, medicine in the lower
cultures is largely a religious matter and the medicine-men
have to deal with spirits, this has led to their being confused
with those persons who in the higher cultures perform real
religious ceremonies. Nowadays, it is true, there are religions
where the functions of the priest and the sorcerer or shaman
are more or less combined, the sorcerers, for instance, per-
forming the sacrifices and the priests the invocations of demons.
Such a state of things, however, is obviously of later origin.

A priesthood, therefore, is entirely lacking among lower
peoples who have not developed any religious ritual in the
proper sense of the word. Almost all of them, however, have
professional sorcerers and magicians whose most important
function is to cure sickness or, on the contrary to cause sickness.
The American Indian tribes, for instance, are seldom, if ever,
without their physicians or medicine-men. On the other hand,
priests have existed among only a few of the most highly-
developed peoples, among the Incas and the Araucanians in
South America, for instance, and among the Mayas and the
Aztecs of Central America, who had developed an elaborate
system of sacrifices. But in addition these peoples had their
medicine-men and sorcerers, and it is in just these societies.

THE ORIGIN OF RITUAL 207

where both professions have their representatives, that it is
possible to establish the fundamental difference between them.

Among some Finno-Ugrian peoples one can also clearly
trace the difference between the sorcerer and the priest. This
has been demonstrated by Dr. Karjalainen with special reference
to the Siberian Ostyaks and Vogules. He points out that
their functions were originally, and are in part still, fundamen-
tally different. The old Finnish noida was not a priest who
performed sacrifices. It was his duty to give the community
to which he belonged supernatural help, in two respects in
particular: first, by finding out, through divination, the cause
of illnesses and other individual troubles. It was necessary,
for instance in a case of sickness, to know which spirit had
sent it and what sacrifices the spirit required to be appeased,
his demands then being reported to the patient or his relatives.
Secondly, the sorcerer had to discover the causes of public
misfortunes, of such things as famine and other public ad-
versities. In such cases the noida frequently indicated not
only the kind of animal to be sacrificed, but also other
particulars concerning the ritual to be followed.

Dr. Karjalainen holds, on the other hand, that the Ostyak
priest, called toek-urt, was originally anyhow a different per-
sonage, his essential function being to perform sacrifices. In
olden times sacrifices seem to have been performed even by
laymen. It is probable, therefore, that, among the Ostyaks
and the Vogules, a priesthood entrusted with this duty did
not originally exist. But although historically, the sorcerer
may be older than the priest, the latter was not developed out
of the former; the priest has a different origin, just as his
functions are essentially different from those of the sorcerer. [7]

The same obviously holds true of other Finno-Ugrian tribes.
Among the Votyaks, for instance, the sorcerer, called tuno, was
above all a diviner or soothsayer, whose advice was sought,
among other things when the appropriate sacrificial animal had
to be selected. But the sacrificial act itself was not performed
by him. This was the duty of the priest and his assistants.
They formed a special class of functionaries, clearly distinguished
originally from that of the sorcerers. This has been pointed
out by several Russian ethnologists who in former times had
the opportimity of studying the customs of the Votyaks. The
fundamental distinction between the priest and the sorcerer

2o8 religious cult

also appears from the fact that at one time it was one of the
duties of the sorcerer or turn to select the sacrihcer and his
assistants. This he was specially qualified to do owing to his
p>ower of divination. [8]

The same may be said of the Tsheremisses. Their sorcerers,
who corresponded closely to the sorcerers of other Finno-
Ugrian peoples and to the Siberian shamans, were called
muzhan. Tbey were divided into three classes, but all were
primarily diviners who, in this capacity, had special knowledge
of the spirits. The priest or sacrihcer, kart, was again a different
functionary. He seems originally to have been simply an old
man occasionally honoured with the task of performing sacri-
fices and directing prayers to the gods on behalf of his people.
With the muzhan as such he had nothing to do, though in
exceptional cases it seems to have happened that the muzhan
not only gave instructions about the sacrifices but even per-
formed them themselves. [9] With the Lapps, on the other
hand, this combination of functions was the rule. However,
even there the functions of the noida and the priest, although
combined, seem to be different in essence. When performing
a sacrifice the noida, among other things, must wear a special
dress, of which we have detailed descriptions. Before he
started to perform the sacrifice he had to fast and to wash his
body carefully, and so forth. [10]

Among the North Asiatic peoples the shaman, according to
Stadling, has to perform, among other things, the following
duties: to cure sickness by expelling the disease-demon; to
reveal secret things in the present and future; to find out the
will of the gods about sacrifices and the like; to decide which
departed souls are to be included among the higher good
spirits, and which among the lower harmful ones ; to perform
magical practices through their knowledge of, and their power
over, the lower spirits.

At the lower stages of shamanism, on the other hand, the
shaman has nothing to do with the sacrificial act itself. His
co-operation is limited to the magical expulsion of evil spirits
at the joint sacrifices addressed to the good spirits. At the
private sacrifices the shaman frequently plays an important
r 61 c by determining, generally by means of divination, which
particular sacrifices ought to be addressed to particular divini-
ties. [ii] Among the Siberian peoples the senior family head

THE ORIGIN OF RITUAL 209

is the person who performs the sacrifices and says the prayers
to the tutelary gods of the group. It is evident, therefore,
that among the North Asiatic peoples, the origin of the priest-
hood is to be found in the institution of sacrifice, that of
shamanism elsewhere.

There is evidence to the same effect from Africa. Of the
Akamba in East Africa, for instance, we hear that the medicine-
man usually decides when it is time to offer sacrifices within
a certain district, since it is believed that the spirits speak
through him. But he may not officiate at the sacrifice himself ;
this is managed by certain old men and women called atumea^
who thus act as priests or priestesses. Only older men and
women may attain this dignity. This is more or less the same
system as we find among Asiatic peoples. [12]

The same is probably true of the religions of archaic cultures,
although as a rule the course of evolution cannot be followed
in detail. Thus the brahman of the Vedic period and the
Persian fire priest athravan were no doubt real priests, although
in these religions the magical element was more strongly
represented than in most other polytheistic religions. There
is little doubt that both among the Indians and the Persians
there were also persons who engaged in magical practices of a
more private kind, corresponding to the sorcerers of primitive
peoples in our own days. Among the Semitic peoples, the
Hebrews in early times probably had no priesthood in the
proper sense of the word. The head of the family or tribe
performed the sacrifices to Jahwe. He was both a political
leader and a priest. Later in the Israelite period, this office
passed to the king. This is an evolution which one finds also
among many other peoples, among the Greeks and Germans,
for instance, who also had their priestly kings. But in this
connection it is important to note that the Israelites had also
diviners and prophets of rather a primitive kind, called rdeh
or chdzeh. These were an exact equivalent of those inspired
diviners and shamans, subject to periodical ecstatic conditions,
whom we find among primitive peoples of to-day. [13] As
to the Greeks, we know that even in historic times they had
all sorts of soothsayers and “ medicine-men ” {iatromdntis^
agyrtes^ kathartes, etc.), who divined and cured illnesses by
means of drugs and exorcisms. These persons, however, are
to be strictly distinguished from the priests proper, who per-
o

210 RELIGIOUS CULT

formed sacrifices and recited prayers in their appointed
sanctuaries. [14]

As culture developed the priests as a rule gained more and
more influence, especially in connection with the growing
importance of rites of sacrifice institutions, and were organized
into a definite social class. In proportion as the priests increased
in religious and social importance, the influence of the sorcerers
declined until at last, deprived entirely of official recognition,
they sank to the status of secret practitioners of illicit black
magic. However, they seldom entirely disappear. The quack
doctors and fortune-tellers of our own days, such as are still
found in remote rural districts, may be regarded as direct
descendants of the ancient sorcerer and medicine-man.

CHAPTER XII

COMMUNION WITH THE SPIRIT WORLD

I N religious ritual man enters into relation with super-
natural powers, whether his object is to constrain and
coerce them, as in magical rites, or to gain their goodwill by
fair means. The success of these actions depends always to
a great extent on the purely peiBonal qualifications of the man
or woman who performs them. Not until they have received
a more or less lengthy instruction or “ initiation ”, are sorcerers
and priests fully competent to exercise their profession. Other
members of the community generally try, by fasting and
ascetic practices of different kinds, to put themselves temporarily
in an ecstatic condition, etc., in order to enhance their inherent
personal “ power ”, or to make themselves agreeable to the
gods. A whole class of magical or religious practices has
arisen, as preliminaries for successfully dealing with the super-
natural world.

Primitive man’s dealing with the spirits is in essence a struggle
against the Supernatural. The spirits are endowed with super-
natural power, while the sorcerer directs his own powers,
natural or acquired, to the attempt to subdue them. Even
without being a professional magician every man needs a
certain equipment to resist the malevolent spiritual being to
whose attacks he is always more or less exposed.

The natural magical power of the human body, as we have
seen before, is due to the soul or the vital power which pervades
it and is seated in special parts of it. This power is generally
greater in men than in women, and normally greater in old
people than in younger persons and children. The latter
have little physical and psychical power of resistance and
therefore fall easy victims to the “ arrows ” of malevolent
sorcerers and the attacks of evil spirits. But the older a man
grows, the more impervious he becomes to supernatural
influences and the better he is qualified to deal with the
spirits.

2X1

212

RELIGIOUS CULT

The development of the natural power of the human body
so that it may resist the evil spirits which threaten man with
sickness and death, is the general aim of initiation ceremonies
in the lower cultures. They are generally held, therefore, at
critical periods in human life when evil spirits are particularly
on the dert to do harm. When a child is born, it has to pass
through ceremonies which are believed to have purifying and
strengthening effects, its body or face is painted to protect it
against evil influences, magical medicines are given to it.
Elaborate ceremonies are performed for young women on the
occasion of their first menstruation, when they are going to
be married, at child-birth, etc. Youths are initiated when they
attain puberty, and are then received among full-grown men,
and allowed to take part in religious ceremonies and mysteries.
Those who wish to make themselves sorcerers and medicine-
men go through a special initiation. Initiation ceremonies
differ somew^hat among different peoples. Fundamentally one
may say they consist of such practices as painting of the body,
tattooing, flagellation, scarification, the knocking-out of teeth,
and circumcision. All these customs are magical or religious
in character. In most cases their object seems to be to purify
the person in question from impure and harmful spirits, and
to harden him permanently or enhance his power to resist evil
supernatural influences.

Initiation ceremonies in the lower cultures are thus funda-
mentally the same everj^here and serve the same general
purpose. In regard to the initiation of the medicine-man or
sorcerer, how^ever, there are certain special points to note,
w^hich arise from the fact that his profession consists on the
one hand in curing sickness by removing the cause of the evil
from the body, and on the other in causing sickness in others
by witchcraft.

What interests us here particularly is the initiation of the
medicine-man. Just as the ideas relating to witchcraft and the
methods of countering it are much the same among all lower
peoples throughout the world, so is there also a remarkable
similarity in the ceremonies observed at the initiation of a
medicine- man.

Let us examine, for instance, the way in which an Indian
medicine-man in tropical South America is initiated into his
profession, [i] The art of the Indian medicine-man is a double-

COMMUNION WITH THE SPIRIT WORLD 213

edged sword: it implies not only the power to cure sickness
but also the power to send it by witchcraft. Neither is possible
except through the co-operation of spirits. Every medicine-man
has a guardian spirit of his own who assists him in all his
doings. When he wants to bewitch a person he summons his
guardian spirit who appears generally in the form of a material
object, a small thorn of the chonta palm, which is closely
associated with evil spirits, a small stone of peculiar form or
colour, a sting of a venomous insect, etc., and helps him to
find the “ arrow The sorcerer either shoots the “ arrow ”
directly from his own mouth with certain magical words, or
sends it through some animal believed to be associated with the
spirits, for instance an animal of the feline species, a venomous
snake, or a bird. With the aid of such an animal he is able
to kill his unsuspecting victim at a long distance. In this way
the medicine-man proceeds to do away with his private foes.
Frequently, however, he operates on behalf of the whole
community against its enemies. At the same time, through
his intimate knowledge of the “ arrow ” and his power over
the spirits, he is able to “ extract ” such an “ arrow ” from the
bodies of those persons whom he wishes to cure.

Among the Indians it is not necessary generally to possess
special innate psychical qualifications in order to become a
medicine-man; no one is “ bom a medicine-man or sorcerer.
When a man wishes to prepare himself for this profession he
addresses an old medicine-man who instructs and “ initiates ”
him for the purpose. Part of this procedure is very peculiar.
The old medicine-man blows directly from his own mouth
into the mouth of the novice, a small chonta thorn together
with some tobacco-juice, at the same time muttering an in-
cantation. As he swallows the chonta thorn the novice is
believed to receive the mysterious “ arrow which will in
due time enable him to act as a sorcerer himself. The “ poison ”
will spread all over his body with his blood, permeating the
whole organism, and in his mouth there will always be some
to be used as required.

In order to become effective in the possession of the new
medicine-man, the “poison” must, however, ripen properly;
this generally takes some months, sometimes even a few years.
During the entire period of preparation the novice must
observe strictly certain rules of conduct. His food is extremely

RELIGIOUS CULT

214

scanty and causes him to lose flesh past recognition. The
effect of the curious magical ideas of the Indians with regard
to food is to restrict him to a rather peculiar diet. Thus,
among the Jibaros, he cannot eat the flesh of the domestic
swine or armadillo, without incurring the danger of death.
On the other hand, he is instructed to eat the meat of a noc-
turnal monkey, “ because the medicine-man has to operate in
darkness as does the night-monkey ”, and of the spider-monkey,
“ because it is very clever and quick in its movements as a
medicine-man also ought to be.” He eats a kind of sheat-fish
because its pointed dorsal fins resemble the small spines used
by the medicine-man when bewitching people. He eats wasps
because of their poisonous sting and, in order to acquire a supply
of ” arrows ”, the small thorns of the chonta palm. Similarly
he eats a kind of sucking-fish found adhering to stones with
their mouth on stony bottoms in certain rivers: in the same
way they think the medicine-man has to proceed in “ sucking
out ” the evil from a patient’s body.

If the food of the future medicine-man is scanty, he con-
sumes freely various narcotic drinks, particularly tobacco-water
and tobacco-juice, the universal medicine of the Indians,
together with another drink prepared from a poisonous liana
found in the Amazon region. By frequently imbibing such
drinks the novice acquires a tendency to ecstatic conditions
which is necessary for a medicine-man: it is only in such a
condition that he can enter into communication with the spirits
and master them.

Among the South American tribes, other drastic means are
also resorted to for the purpose of making a sorcerer capable
of exercising his profession, such as scourging, scarification,
and venesection. These frequently form part of the medicine-
man’s initiation. Their general aim is to purify, harden, and
strengthen, in a magical sense, both body and soul. [2] The
idea underlying venesection, for instance, is that evil and
harmful spirits will leave the organism with the flowing blood.
But the general increase of the physical and psychical power
of resistance, as we have seen, is not enough when a future
medicine-man is in question; he must also receive into his
organism that mysterious ” poison ” which, although it looks
like material matter, is transformed at the moment of action
into a supernatural being.

COMMUNION WITH THE SPIRIT WORLD 215

The novice, of course, also receives from his master verbal
instruction in regard to everything connected with the medical
profession, above all the formulae of exorcism which the
medicine-men have to recite on various occasions, the kind of
“ arrows to be used, and so forth.

The Indian medicine-man always seems to exercise his art
with the aid of a spirit into close relation with which he has
entered individually. Indeed one of the principal aims of the
initiation ceremonies is to help the future medicine-man
acquire this individual guardian spirit. Among the com-
paratively primitive Chaco Indians old men, initiated in the
magic art, frequently used to speak about their “ good spirits
whose help they invoked whenever occasion required. [3]
These guardian spirits are still more familiar in North America.
In the great Algonkin tribe, for instance, they were called
manitoos, whereas the Iroquois and the Hurons called them
Okies or otkons. The manitoo was a general Algonkin term for
all the spirits of nature, and the guardian spirits of individuals
were only one class of these manitoos. This personal guardian
spirit was obtained by fasting and dreaming at puberty, the
object appearing in the dream — generally in the shape of an
animal — becoming the guardian spirit of the novice. Of
special interest, however, were the good or bad manitoos of
the medicine-men, with whose aid they exercised white or
black magic. Closely associated with these guardian spirits
were the famous “ medicines ” of the North American Indians
from which the native doctors or sorcerers took the name
“ medicine-men

The painter Catlin, who lived among the Indians about a
hundred years ago and knew them well, has given an interesting
account of their guardian spirits and medicine-bags. The
word “ medicine ” applied by the whites to Indian beliefs,
signifies mystery ; “ everything mysterious and unaccount-
able Above all, the word was applied to those mysterious
but generally insignificant things which were guarded by the
medicine-men in their famous “medicine-bags”. The bags
were constructed of the skins of animals, of birds, or of reptiles,
and ornamented and preserved in a thousand different ways.
These skins were generally attached to some part of the
clothing of the Indian, or carried in his hand. Often they were
decorated in such a way as to be exceedingly ornamental to his

2i6 religious cult

person; there were generally no drugs or medicines in them,
as they were religiously closed and seded, and seldom, if ever,
opened. Catlin states that in primitive times every Indian
carried some form of medicine-bag, to which he paid the
greatest homage and to which he looked for safety and pro-
tection through life. “ In fact, it might almost be called a
species of idolatry; for it would seem in some instances as if
he actually worshipped it. Feasts are often made, and dogs
and horses sacrificed to a man’s medicine; and days, and
even weeks, of fasting and penance of various kinds are often
suffered to appease his medicine, which he imagines he has in
some way offended.” [4]

As far as I can see, the medicine-bags of the North American
Indians offer an almost exact equivalent to the fetishes of the
West African negroes. In South America, too, one commonly
meets with “ medicines

I think w'^e are correct in assuming that the above description,
in spite of certain differences in the details, is true, on the
whole, of sorcerers and shamans among primitive peoples in
general. Information ethnologists give about the sorcerers and
their activities among the peoples they have studied, is in
general very incomplete. In the case of the shamans of Northern
Asia, however, we have full information.

The most characteristic and important feature in shamanism
is the ecstasy or trance, during which the soul of the shaman
leaves the body in a state of unconsciousness and journeys to
the world of spirits. This ecstasy, which among primitive
peoples everywhere is regarded as a sign of man’s communica-
tion with the spiritual world, also plays its part in the activity
of the American medicine-man, but its importance is much
greater in Siberian shamanism. The essential difference seems
to be this. Whereas in American shamanism it is the man
himself who, in one way or another, selects for himself a
guardian spirit, in Asiatic shamanism it is the god who selects
the shaman. ” The acquisition of a protecting spirit,” says
Dr. Sternberg, ” is usually not the result of the wishes or
efforts of the shaman himself. It is not given to man to become
shaman of his own free will . . . quite the contrary, it comes
to one against one’s own desire, and the high gift is accepted
as a heavy burden, which man takes up as the inevitable.”
From this point of view Dr. Sternberg thinks it possible to

COMMUNION WITH THE SPIRIT WORLD 217

speak of a “ divine election in shamanism [5] Quite suddenly,
usually in early youth, the future shaman is smitten with an
acute disease, followed by hysterical fits, faintings, hallucina-
tions, etc., which sometimes torture him for weeks. After
these, also quite suddenly, the spirit which has chosen him
appears to him while he is in one of these fits, or else in a
dream, and announces his choice and commands the man to
become a shaman, at the same time offering to guide and help
him. [6]

If, therefore, ecstatic phenomena are undoubtedly more
prominent in Asiatic shamanism than in the shamanism of the
New World, the fact must be explained chiefly from the
psychological peculiarities which characterize the North Asiatic
peoples. These in their turn are evidently, at least partly, due
to climatic and other natural conditions. The despondency
and apathy which an arctic climate necessarily breeds in man,
is reflected typically in the religion of the Siberian peoples.

Closely connected with these mental characteristics, is the
great nervous susceptibility and disposition to hysteria and
hallucinations which often appear in shamanism. “ In the
study of shamanism,’* says another author on the religion of
the North Asiatic peoples, “ one frequently encounters men,
and especially women, suffering from fully developed mad-
ness.” Speaking of the Chuckchees, the Russian ethnologist
Bogoras, mentions that on certain occasions he observed among
them a ” shamanizing en masse ”, that is a peculiar patho-
logical state of mind which simultaneously seized all the persons
present, reducing them to an ecstatic condition and causing
them to dance savagely, to shout and yell, while sometimes
imitating men, sometimes those animals in the shape of which
the spirits were supposed to appear. [7] The extreme nervous
sensibility which — I think with some exaggeration — has been
attributed to primitive peoples in general, [8] is undoubtedly
a prominent feature in Ae psychology of the Siberian peoples.
Naturally with them, persons with a special tendency to ecstatic
conditions are destined, above others, for the profession of the
shaman.

Apart from this, there are many similarities between the
American medicine-man and the Asiatic shaman; their way
of operating is also largely the same. Both fancy, for instance,
that in dreams they receive revelations from the spirits, who

2i8

RELIGIOUS CULT

give them mysterious stones or other objects which they make
use of in exercising their profession. To both, the spirits
frequently appear in the shape of wild animals or birds, in
some cases even as inorganic objects. Both remove the disease-
demon from the body by all kinds of manipulation and by
sucking. The shamans, like the Indian medicine-men, practise
partly white, partly black magic. However, the belief in
the exercise of black magic by means of witchcraft seems
generally to be more prominent among the Indians than
among the Siberian peoples. A certain difference also appears
in their theories respecting illness. As I have stated before,
that theory of disease which ascribes it to the loss of the soul,
is more common among the Siberian peoples, whereas the
witchcraft theory predominates, on the whole, among the
Indians.

A close examination of the psychology of the sorcerers and
their methods of operation among different primitive peoples
in other parts of the world, such as the African negroes, the
tribes of India, the Polynesians and the Australian aborigines,
would seem only to confirm the assertion that, on this point, we
are dealing with a remarkable world-wide system of ideas due
to the essential similarity in the working of the human mind
among all the lower races. In connection with their quasi-
medical practices I shall have to refer again to medicine-men or
sorcerers at a later stage.

Priesthood, as w^e have seen, arose later in connection with
the institution of religious ritual in the real sense of the word,
and especially with the institution of sacrifice. Doubtless,
among most peoples, the earliest priest w^as the family head in
his capacity as officiant. [9] Where a priesthood in the proper
sense of the word has been developed, its members generally
have to undergo a certain initiation; only after they have
passed through it are they considered capable of exercising
their profession. In higher religions the instruction consists
primarily in the novice having to learn by heart the sacred
Scriptures, or in any case those hymns and prayers which are
recited at the divine service, or the ritual to be observed while
performing the sacrifices.

As we know, the power of the Indian priests or brahmans,
depended largely on their intimate knowledge of the highly
important rites of sacrifice and the words, filled with magical

COMMUNION WITH THE SPIRIT WORLD 219

power, which were recited in connection with them. The
extraordinary effect of the sacrifice depended on its correct
performance; to carry it out incorrectly might have fatal
consequences. The training of the Vedic priest, therefore,
consisted essentially in learning the sacred prayers and in the
acquisition of a profound knowledge of the theory and technique
of sacrifice. To be properly prepared, therefore, for the
exercise of his office, the young brahman, from childhood and
frequently up to his thirtieth year, had to be at school with
some priest, who taught him the hymns of the Veda. In
addition he learnt the various artifices of the liturgy. When
his novitiate was over his head was shaved ; he left his teacher
and was allowed to function as a sacrificer. [10] The initiation
of the Persian priest, athravan^ closely resembled that of the
Indian brahman. Although the Persian priests did not form
an exclusive caste like the Indian brahmans, the exercise of the
priestly functions was in fact confined to certain families. No
outsider could have anything to do with sacrifices and purifica-
tions. Raking out the sacred fire, the brewing of the sacrificial
drink haomay and the recitation of hymns and prayers, con-
stituted the essential ritual elements of the Avesta religion, in
which the future priest had to be instructed. The priest’s son
began this institution at the age of seven. At fourteen he had
to pass an examination, after which he became a chaplain,
herbady and was entitled to officiate at the altar. It was not
until he was letter perfect in the Yasna and the Vendidad, the
most important parts of the Veda, that he became a real priest,
mobed. [ii]

The Egyptians had a numerous priesthood, which was divided
into different classes according to the different functions of the
priests. Their duty was to serve the god according to the
ritual, to arrange and lead the processions, and to perform the
sacrifices. Besides this they were interpreters of omens and
dreams. We have no exact knowledge of the initiation of the
Egyptian priests and of their position during different periods.
In early times chief priests only wore special tokens of their
dignity. It was only later that the rest of the priests were
distinguished from other members of the community by their
dress and their shaved head.

But the priests proper were not the only ones who performed
priestly functions. In the earliest times the cult of the local

220

RELIGIOUS CULT

god was led by the political head of the province, assisted by
those immediately under him, while the highest priest was
Pharaoh himself, the offspring of the sun-god. [12] We
meet with the same system in all theocratic states, particularly in
the East, The Babylonian priests were mediators between the
gods and men in the strict sense of the word, teachers of the
sciences, which were regarded as revealed religion, and guardians
of the literature which was also looked upon as sacred because
the Scripture itself was supposed to be of divine origin.

In contrast to the priests of Egypt and Persia, those of
Babylonia formed an exclusive caste. Their status was hered-
itary, and they educated their successors in their own schools.
They were divided into various classes according to the type
of rite in which they specialized — sacrifices, rites of purification,
exorcism, augury, or the interpretation of dreams. Since the
exorcism of evil spirits, although probably not an indigenous
feature of Babylonian religion, later anyhow played a most
important part in it, some of the priests almost had Ae character
of sorcerers or magicians enjoying official recognition. A priest
had to be outwardly blameless and was not allowed to suffer
from any bodily defect. Before he proceeded to perform any
ritual he had to pass through careful purifications by means of
washing and so on. [13] These rules concerning the priests
and their activity are met with in most of the higher religions.

So far we have been dealing only with official practitioners
of magic or religion. Sorcerers and priests, however, are not
the only persons who enter into relation with the unseen world
of spirits and gods. Every grown-up member of the society
has to do so on certain occasions, and consequently must be
properly prepared. At the magical rites of uncivilized peoples
all men and women are usually present, women being excluded
only from those which have the character of mysteries. In
the higher religions the whole community appears before the
gods at divine service. Every individual taking part in the
sacred ceremony w^as expected to be outwardly and inwardly
suitably prepared.

We have already seen what an important part an innate or
acquired disposition for ecstasy or the susceptibility to spiritual
influence in general plays in the lower religions, for instance
in Asiatic shamanism, where not only the shamans but all
present may be seized by the “ inspiration Among the

COMMUNION WITH THE SPIRIT WORLD 221

Indians of South America I frequently had the opportunity
of witnessing ceremonial dances in which all those taking part
gradually worked themselves up into a sort of ecstasy, behaving
almost as if “ possessed [14] Such noisy ceremonies among
savages of our own days form an exact equivalent of the wild
orgies which among the ancient Greeks were associated with
the cult of the wine-god Dionysus. But it is a well-known fact
that phenomena of this kind are not limited to uncivilized
peoples or the lower religions. Even at higher stages of
religious evolution, ‘‘ divine inspiration has frequently found
expression in more or less abnormal psychical conditions.

Prophecy in the lower cultures is closely connected with
the above ideas. I have already pointed out that the art of
foretelling future events ascribed to certain persons, when in
an ecstatic state of mind, is ascribed to the temporary incarnation
by a deity, or to the supposed fact that a spirit has taken
possession of them and speaks through them. We have to note,
however, that this divinatory power is not the exclusive privilege
of the professional prophet or diviner. Other people can
sometimes acquire it temporarily, generally by using artificial
means of some kind.

In savage societies it is quite common for a psychological
susceptibility to spiritual influence to be enhanced, for instance,
by intoxicating and narcotic drinks. These call forth in the
person consuming them all sorts of dreams, visions, hallucina-
tions, or real ecstasy. I mentioned in dealing with the plant-
spirits of primitive peoples, the great importance which certain
intoxicants and narcotics, known under the names kashiriy
ayahuascQy huaniuCy etc., have in the religious life of the South
American Indians. [15] They are not used solely by medicine-
men and sorcerers, but also by other people, even by women
on certain occasions. Many Indians in Central and North
America have used the narcotic which is best known under
its Aztec name peyotl and w^hich was first mentioned by Father
Sahagun in his work written about forty years after the conquest
of Mexico. [16] Owing to the peculiar visions and hallucina-
tions produced by this plant (a species of Anfialomum)y it was
looked upon as sacred by the ancient Mexican and other
Indians who used it in much the same way as the South
Americans do their narcotics. They thought it gave prophetic
powers: those who ate its root could predict the attacks of

222

RELIGIOUS CULT

enemies, or their future fortune, or reveal the hiding-place of
stolen goods. Sahagun makes the interesting statement that
“ those who eat peyotl take it instead of wine and the poisonous
mushroom nanacatl.’^

Poisonous mushrooms, or more strictly speaking, the fly-
acaric, are used in our own day by several North Asiatic peoples,
such as the Ostyaks, Samoyedes, Tungus, and Koryaks. By
eating it, the shamans put themselves into a state of ecstasy.
As a preliminary to the performance, we are told, two to seven
dried acarics are eaten. These are said to make the shaman
“ mad If people that are not shamans eat the acarics they
will die, a statement one can easily understand. [17] Evidently,
special training on the part of the shamans is necessary for
this sort of diet. Many sorcerers, however, have no need of
such narcotics. Their innate disposition for ecstatic conditions
makes such artificial means superfuous.

It is worth mentioning that the inebriating drink of the ancient
Indians, the soma of the Vedic period, identical with the Persian
haomay was originally a sacred drink of the same kind as those
still used by many uncivilized peoples. The plant from which
this fermented drink was brewed is still unknown as, too, is
the mode of its preparation. [18] By a curious evolution of
thought, characteristic of the Indians, somay which was originally
a sacred drink through which it was possible to evoke the
gods and particularly Indra, gradually changed its significance
and finally became a personal god. Soma. Throughout
antiquity one finds traces of the ancient Aryan deification of
intoxicating and narcotic drinks which produced ecstasy. Such
arc the decoctions of thalassaegle which Pliny tells were drunk
to produce delirium and visions, the drugs mentioned by
Hesychius used to invoke Hecate, and last but not least the
drunken orgies connected with the worship of Dionysus. [19]
As to Persia, the survival of such practices is most conspicuous
among the dervishes of our own day. These mystics are not
only opium-eaters, like so many of their countrymen ; they are
also hashish-smokers, and the effect of this drug is to bring
them into a state of exaltation which passes into complete
hallucination.

Although, as we have seen, these methods of enhancing the
magical power of the human body and its susceptibility to
spiritual influence are not limited to uncivilized peoples, they

COMMUNION WITH THE SPIRIT WORLD 223

nevertheless belong essentially to a primitive stage of religious
thought. In somewhat higher pol)rtheistic religions one
notices another set of practices which have for their object to
augment man’s personal “ holiness ”, and to fill him with
supernatural powers or a divine spirit. To these belong the
various religious “ exercises ” comprised by the general term
of asceticism.

Asceticism in the proper sense of the word is thus a phenom-
enon characteristic of the higher religions. Practices of this
kind, however, also occur in primitive cultures, although the
underlying ideas are somwhat different from those upon which
the ascetic practices of polytheistic and monotheistic religions
are based. We can distinguish between negative and positive
asceticism, the former consisting in abstinence and privation
of some kind, such as fasting and sexual abstinence, the latter
in mortification, self-mutilation, and various forms of penance.
Both are practised by savage peoples, and it is important to
inquire into the different ideas which have given rise to
them.

Nearly all the lower religions have formulated rules of taboo
which enjoin men and women to observe fasting and sexual
abstinence on certain occasions and before important under-
takings. Even among primitive peoples different ideas may be
associated with the custom of fasting. In very many cases it
has a purely magical aim and is connected with the idea that
by eating a certain kind of food, a special kind of meat, for
instance, a man may acquire the particular qualities character-
istic of that animal. The instances already mentioned relating
to the diet of the Indian medicine-man are typical in this
respect and show one the peculiar line of thought sometimes
underlying primitive customs. Other instances of the same
kind may be mentioned.

Among the Jibaros and Canelos Indians of Ecuador a sort
of couvade prevails. This mainly consists in the father having
to diet and to observe certain other rules of abstinence. He
abstains, for instance, from eating the toucan, because, according
to the belief of the Indians, this bird is sometimes the incarnation
of a demon or the seat of the chonta thorn which the sorcerers
make use of in bewitching people. If the parents, and espe-
cially the father, eat a toucan, the new-born child may be
bewitched, pine away and die. The father is also forbidden to

RELIGIOUS CULT

224

eat hen’s eggs because, if he does so, the faeces of the child will
turn the same colour as the yellow of the egg, that is, the child
will get diarrhoea and die. [20] Again, when the women have
sown ground-nuts, which are of great importance from an
alimentary point of view, they have to diet for some time
afterwards, until the plant is well developed. They are not
allowed to eat meat of the howling monkey or the squirrel;
nor must they eat the intestines of any animal, blood, the fat
of the swine, tadpoles, or fish roes, nor chew sugar-cane. These
rules arise from the following ideas. The skin of the howling
monkey and the squirrel is reddish-yellow, as if burnt by the
sun. If the women eat the meat of these animals after having
sown ground-nuts, the crop will soon go the same reddish-
yellow colour, that is, it will be burnt by the sun and dry up.
If the women eat the intestines of animals, the crop will soon
fall into small pieces and be spoiled. The same will happen
if they eat objects that flow or melt away easily and vanish
like blood, the fat of the swine, and the sweet liquid contained
in the sugar-cane, or foods of a very loose consistency, which
dissolve easily, like tadpoles, fish roes, etc. [21]

These rules of diet, as we find, depend on purely magical ideas.
In other cases, uncivilized peoples abstain from eating certain
animals because, for one reason or another, they are regarded
as connected with evil spirits. In this category the most
important are animals or birds believed to carry the magical
“ arrow ” of sorcerers or regarded as incarnations of an evil
spirit or demon. Animals into which the spirits of the departed
are believed to have transmigrated are therefore nearly always
taboo as food.

The custom of fasting after a death may, in part at least, be
explained this way. What primitive people fear above all in
such cases is the contagion of death or the infection or pollution
of which the dead body is regarded as a seat. But this infection
or pollution is not, as some anthropologists seem to think, a
purely magical power or substance; it always seems to be
personified as an evil spirit, a personification perfectly in accord
with a primitive manner of thought. Primitive man thinks that
in eating at a time when evil spirits arc raging in the village, he
may himself come into intimate contact with the evil spirit and
fall ill and die. This, at any rate, is the idea present to the
Indian mind. [22] For the same reason women fast, for instance,

COMMUNION WITH THE SPIRIT WORLD 225

during menstruation and after child-birth ; on these occasions
they are particularly threatened by evil spirits.

There is a general motive for fasting, seen both in lower
cultures and in higher religions, which needs to be mentioned.
Fasting, by lessening bodily strength, makes man more disposed
to abnormal physical and psychical conditions, dreams and
visions, hallucinations and ecstasy. It has come, therefore, to
form an important preparation for magical and religious rites
and ceremonies.

Sexual abstinence is also observed by primitive peoples on
many occasions. A woman, for instance, may be obliged to
abstain from sexual intercourse for some time after the death of
her husband ; a man must abstain before he starts for a war- or
hunting-expedition, when he lies in couvade, and so forth. The
motives for this kind of abstinence may, of course, be different,
but they are evidently founded partly on magical, partly on
religious ideas. Practices of this kind form an important class
of those rules of restriction known under the name of sexual
taboos. Among the South American Indians the sexual abstin-
ence of widows seems to be due in most cases to fear lest the
spirit of the dead husband should harm a woman who has inter-
course with another man. [23] Generally a year must elapse
before she is allowed to remarry. The abstinence of a man
before starting for a war- or hunting-expedition, is frequently
due to the idea that he will lose something of his virile qualities
and become weak like a woman if he has intercourse with one.

In somewhat higher religions it is a common rule for priests
to have to fast and to abstain from sexual intercourse before
performing important rites. The motives for this abstinence,
of course, differ to a certain extent from those found in the
lower cultures, their general aim being to enhance the purity and
“ holiness of persons approaching the gods in sacred rites.

P

CHAPTER XIII

THE CONTROL OF SPIRITS BY MAGICAL MEANS

T here are a great many rites and ceremonies in which the
magical and religious element are so intimately intermingled ,
that it is scarcely possible to distinguish them strictly. Many
prayers in the higher religions, for instance, may develop into
something like a magical coercion of the divinity, without the
suppliant, perhaps, being aware of it. Even offerings and sacrifices
are thought in many cases to have the power of constraining or
compelling the gods, or to augment their power. In this chapter,
however, I shall consider primarily such ritual acts as may be
strictly described as the coercion of spirits, and are generally
considered to need the co-operation of a shaman or sorcerer.

The occasions on which such rites are held are too numerous
to be dealt with in detail. I shall touch only on the most im-
portant and most typical. Among these is exorcism of disease-
demons.

To make the significance of the magical rites fully intelligible,
one must first say a few words about the dress and equipment
of the medicine-man, which in fact is looked upon as a part of
his personality. The superior spiritual power, which is one of
the personal qualifications of the medicine-man, can occasionally
be further enhanced by the dress and magical ornaments he puts
on before he proceeds to exercise his profession. Thus the
painting of the body or the face forms an important part of the
outfit of the Indian medicine-man. In some cases the face, as
well as the arms, legs, and breast, are painted either red with a
red paint obtained from the uruciH-pXznt {Bixa orelland), or
black with charcoal. Ear-discs or tubes, sometimes of a tremen-
dous size, are stuck into the ear-lobes, which are perforated
for this purpose. Round the neck he wears a collar made of
wild animals’ teeth. TTie head, and sometimes the wrists and
ankles, are decorated with the feathers of parrots and other
magical birds, and sometimes a bundle of similar feathers is held
in the hand. The drum or rattle gourd and the bag containing

226

THE CONTROL OF SPIRITS 227

his spells complete the equipment of the medicine-man. [i]
Very similar is the equipment of the African sorcerer. Before
he starts to operate, the West African “ fetish priest may dress
himself in a lion’s or leopard’s skin. He paints his body different
colours, the face generally white with white earth and the rest of
the body red. White feathers and down are fastened to certain
parts of the body by means of a kind of lime. In some cases the
head is decorated with a plume.

The costume of the Asiatic shaman, with its many details, is
also very fantastic. Among the Altai Tartars, for instance, the
shaman costume consisted at one time of a long cloak of reindeer-
skin which was decorated with tassels, iron figures, buttons,
and other pendants. There was also a covering for the breast
hung round the neck under the opening of the cloak, footwear
which at times reached high enough to cover the thighs, gloves
or gauntlets and a head-dress. The iron objects attached to the
costume originally imitated the bones of certain animals, among
which three types can be distinguished : the deer, the bear, and
the bird. For the bird, the head-dress was usually made of birds’
feathers, notably those of the homed owl and the eagle. The
iron plates and small bells attached to the dress made a tremen-
dous noise when shaken and great efficacy was ascribed to them.
In general, the whole dress was believed to be of decisive im-
portance for the success of the operations of the shaman. Only
by dressing himself in the magical costume is the controller of
the demons changed “ from a man into a shaman ”. [2]

Taken as a whole, all these arrangements connected with the
dress of the sorcerer may be said to form a clever combination
of magical powers. From a primitive point of view, every detail
has a reasonable meaning. Originally among all uncivilized
peoples, body-painting, for instance, had a purely magical sig-
nificance, as can be shown to be the case still among many back-
ward tribes. This was obviously so, for instance, among the
primitive inhabitants of Europe of the Neanderthal race. The
general idea is that it gives the body strength. [3] Much the
same ideas exist in regard to the teeth and claws of certain wild
animals and the feathers of certain magical birds.

Although there is general agreement that the equipment of the
sorcerer has a special mystic significance, there are somewhat
diverse opinions as to the real significance of the peculiar costume
of the Siberian shaman. Thus Dr. Holmberg-Harva thinks that

228

RELIGIOUS CULT

the shaman costume, in the form in which it appears among the
majority of the Siberian peoples, is nothing but “ an attempt at the
representation of the soul of the shaman which wanders during
the performance of his art in the form of some animal. [4]
The Lapps did, in fact, commonly believe that the soul of
the shaman {noida) could travel in other forms. He could fly
through the air in the shape of a bird, or run along the earth in
that of a reindeer. [5] We assume, of course, that, according to
magical principles, the feathers of the birds and the reindeer-
skins enabled him to do so. There also appears — anyhow among
the Yenisey Ostyaks — the idea that the reindeer-horns which
the shaman wears will enable him to butt his opponents and
push them away. [6]

But there must have been other ideas also associated with the
shamanic dress. First, it must have been thought that the iron
plates, skins, feathers, and other objects of which the dress in
general was composed, increased that mysterious magical power
the shaman needs when he enters into communication with the
spirits. Besides, one must remember that the different “ orna-
ments ” and iron figures — figures of lizards, swans, divers, etc. —
evidently represented different assistant spirits, “ spirit animals ”
or, as they are sometimes called in Siberia, “ mother-animals ”,
which help the shaman to perform his rites. [7] Similarly in
America, the assistant spirits who help the medicine-man in his
operations are frequently represented in his magical dress.

In his mcigical instruments^ how'ever, the sorcerer has the most
powerful means of coercing the spirits. There are few lower
peoples among whom these instruments are entirely lacking, but
they may, of course, be of many different kinds: drums, rattle
gourds, trumpets, flutes, bull-roarers, etc. The most common
of all is probably the drum. Among the American Indians and
the Siberian shamans, for instance, it is the typical instrument
by which the spirits were controlled. At a higher stage of
culture, these means of control generally lose their magical or
religious significance and degenerate into mere musical instru-
ments or playthings for children. But their original meaning
must not be overlooked. Their very manufacture is often con-
nected with interesting ideas. Generally they are made of a
special material believed to possess mysterious power. The
sacred instruments used by the secret societies of the Indians of
North-west America were always made, for example, of the wood

THE CONTROL OF SPIRITS

229

or bark of the cedar to which mysterious power was ascribed,
because in the cedar dwelt the spirit of a sorcerer. [8] For the
same reason the sacred flutes used at certain mystery feasts of
the Brazilian Indians had to be made of the magical paxiuva
palm. [9] The Indians of ancient Peru used big drums made of
human skin, which were said to derive great efficacy from their
material. In some cases the South American medicine-men
enhance the efficacy of their magical instruments by painting
figures of terrible demons on them [10] — figures of the same
demons which are to be controlled by their means. Much the
same may be said of the ancient Lapps who painted figures on
their drums with red alder juice which was supposed to possess
great magical power, [ii]

In rites for the cure of sickness, the task of the magician, as we
have seen, is to expel the evil demon which, through the oper-
ations of a hostile wizard, has entered the patient’s body. The
Indian medicine-man generally begins his treatment by certain
mysterious manipulations. These, as one frequently notices
in regard to the superstitious customs of uncivilized peoples,
may sometimes have genuinely beneficial effects. He rubs the
diseased spot with his hands or with certain mysterious objects
extracted from his magical bag ; he then paints it with tobacco-
juice, blows and spits upon it and lastly sucks out the evil. The
latter, as we have seen, generally appears in the form of a
material object, a thorn, a small stone, a piece of bone, etc.
Special interest is attached to the use of the magical instrument,
the drum or the rattle gourd, as well as to the formulae addressed
to the spirit.

The original idea underlying the use of magical instruments,
was doubtless simply to drive away evil spirits through the strong
or unusual sound they produced. Primitive peoples still
commonly believe that by making a noise, by shooting into the
air, and so on, invisible supernatural foes can be inspired with fear.

Where a real technique of magical control has been developed,
however, the principle of dealing with the supernatural powers
is somewhat different. Here the chief aim is to compel the
demons to draw near and even to enter into the magical
instrument itself; if they do so, they are entirely subdued
by the sorcerer and become his obedient servants. This is the
procedure, for example, of the Indian magicians. [12] Hence
the sacred rattle gourd of the Guarani Indians, called maraka^ was

RELIGIOUS CULT

230

changed after the conclusion of the rite into a sort of oracle which
conveyed supernatural knowledge to the medicine-man. [13]
This knowledge proceeded from the spirit magically imprisoned
in the instrument and now the servant of the sorcerer. The
same holds true of the methods of the Siberian shaman. In
Siberia, the drum is essentially a means of putting the shaman
into a state of ecstasy. This state is produced by the evil demon,
who is compelled to enter into the drum and thence into the
shaman himself, who thus becomes “ possessed [14]. At the
same time it is the mastery thus acquired over the demon which
makes it possible for the shaman to attain his aim, whether it is
to expel the disease-demon from a patient’s body or to obtain
hidden knowledge by divination.

In these cases the effect of the operation is due partly to the
power the sorcerer possesses in his own person, partly to the
mysterious power emanating from the instrument. The roaring
or booming sound produced by the bull-roarers in Australia and
Brazil, or the piping sound produced by whistles, is believed,
for example, to imitate the sounds of the spirits and make it
easier to control them.

To this, one must add the influence of verbal invocation by
the sorcerer. Sometimes most magical actions are accompanied
by powerful words, of a type which is very similar among all
uncivilized peoples. The speech of the sorcerer is limited to
indistinct mumbling and inarticulate sounds; or the evil spirit
may be told in a commanding voice to leave the patient’s body.
Where words are uttered they consist most commonly in an
enumeration of different supernatural beings who are thought
to be possible sources of the evil. This is the rule with the
invocations of the Indian medicine-man in tropical South
America.

Here we meet with the idea of the magical power of the word
and of the name. The power of the word, of course, depends
largely on the person who utters it. But, in the lower cultures,
it is considered specially important to know the name of the
spirit or god which is to be influenced. According to primitive
belief, the name is not an arbitrary appendage to a person, but
forms an inseparable part of his being. This also holds true
of the names of spirits and gods. By pronouncing loudly
the names of the disease-demons, the sorcerer believes he can
summon and coerce them. Since disease-demons are frequently

THE CONTROL OF SPIRITS

231

thought to appear in the shape of certain animals — ^animals of
the feline species, birds, reptiles, insects — the animal-demons
are particularly prominent in the invocations of the Indian
medicine-man. [15]. The cure must be sought where the evil
has its origin. In general, according to primitive belief, to know
the origin of a phenomenon is equal to mastering that phe-
nomenon. Hence, for instance, the extraordinary importance
which the ancient Finns attached to “ words of origin {syn-
tysanat) in their magical spells. But we meet the same idea
among uncivilized peoples all over the world.

One of the most important modes of magical control of spirits
in the lower cultures is dancing. Civilized peoples, who know the
dance only as an amusement, may find it difficult to understand
that originally the dance had either a purely ceremonial signifi-
cance, or was a serious act of worship. This character the dance
still has as a rule among primitive peoples uninfluenced by
European culture, although in general, ethnologists have hitherto
paid too little attention to this particular detail of their religious
life. Many savage peoples, among others most of the South
American Indians, have no knowledge of profane dances at all.
However, just as among many peoples, drums, masks, bull-
roarers and other magical instruments have lost their original
significance, so, in many cases, have dances degenerated into
mere play or amusement.

In outward form, the dances of primitive peoples differ
essentially from those of civilized peoples. The music, for in-
stance, where it occurs, still generally has some other object than
that of marking time; it is an instrument for the control of
spirits. In many cases only men take part. The women, if
allowed to be present at all, play the role of onlookers. To this
rule, however, there are many exceptions. In fact, in America
there are dances performed only by women. One might mention
dances performed by young girls on attaining puberty, or those
connected with agriculture, which is largely the duty of the
female sex. [16]

Circular dances seem to be the most common. In others the
participants are arranged in one or more rows, moving forwards
and backwards. In many dances for the exorcism of spirits, no
particular order is observed ; everybody hops and dances as he
likes, sometimes performing the most grotesque movements and
accompanying them with chanting and noise. Such “ savage ”

±32 RELIGIOUS CULT

dances, for instance, are performed at the scalp- and head-feasts of
the Indians, and sometimes when disease-demons are exorcized.

Magical dances, as performed, for instance, among the natives
of America, the negroes of Africa, and in Polynesia, have an
additional object, namely, to promote fertility. Every year, the
Indians of the Gran Chaco arrange great dances to “ hasten ”
the ripening of the important algaroba fruit. [17] The South
Sea islanders, among other things, try to augment the fertility
of the bread-fruit tree.

Fertility in nature, according to primitive view, is bound up in
a mysterious way with fertility in the human world. Both,
among savage peoples, are frequently promoted by phallic dances
consisting in more or less obscene mimicry. These, too, have a
purely magical or religious significance. Dances, moreover, are
performed to cure or prevent disease and epidemics. One of the
most interesting Indian dances I witnessed was the nahdt ddnnaran
of the Toba Indians. This was performed every night in the month
of October and had, for its object, to prevent an epidemic which
appeared regularly at that time of the year. [18] Besides this,
ecstatic dancing is often connected with the operations of the
Indian medicine-man and the Asiatic shaman. Magical dances
likewise take place at burials, when their aim is to control the
death-spirit, as a preliminary to war expeditions, etc.

It has been asserted that the significance of the dance as a
religious activity lies essentially in the fact that it puts the dancers
into a state of ecstasy. [19] This hypothesis, however, as far as
it claims to give a general explanation of the idea of primitive
dance, overshoots the mark. Ecstasy certainly plays an important
part in many of the religious dances of lower peoples, but it is by
no means an essential feature. Most of the Indian dances, for
instance, are not ecstatic, but calm and quiet. Yet they have a
deep ceremonial character.

In fact, primitive dances are based on several different ideas.
By dancing round a person on a critical occasion, primitive
peoples believe that they can protect him against supernatural
powers. Among the Chaco Indians, at a girl’s first menstruation,
one of the ceremonies performed in her honour consists in the
older women dancing round her at a slow pace, thus driving
away the evil spirits which are supposed to attack her. [20] It
is also thought that evil spirits may be inspired with fear through
the movements of the dance and ^e noise.

THE CONTROL OF SPIRITS

233

When it is used in order to obtain control over spirits, the
dance has the same object as the magical instruments, namely,
to compel the spirits to draw near. Through the rhythmical
movements of the dancing, part of the energy latent in the
organism, so to speak, is released into actuality. In combination
with other magical powers — these proceeding from the instru-
ments, the chanting which generally accompanies the dance, and
so forth — it is thought to act irresistibly upon supernatural beings.
Moreover, many dances, especially those held before a hunting-
or fishing-expedition or before warfare, are essentially panto-
mimic representations of desired conditions. Luck in hunting
and fishing and victory in war, are anticipated in the dances and
will, according to magical ideas, inevitably follow. Even in these
dances, one sees the principle which underlies most of the dances
of savages, namely, the principle of imitation.

The Indians of the Gran Chaco fancy that the evil spirits are
dancing when they approach the villages at night in order to
visit sickness and misfortune on inhabitants. To keep them
away and counteract their evil influences, the Indians themselves
dance at night, performing the same sort of movements and
trying, in general, to imitate their manners as faithfully as
possible. [21] In some tribes, the men wear round their neck
a kind of flat whistle made of wood and ornamented with incised
figures. With these whistles they produce shrill sounds from
time to time during the dances. >These are supposed to imitate
the sounds of the spirits and to have the power of frightening
them away. Moreover, according to the ideas of the Indians,
the demons appear with red painted faces and wearing feather
ornaments on the head and other ornaments. Hence the dancing
Indians decorate themselves in the same way, believing that thus
will they be able to master the invisible visitors. [22]

The idea that it is possible to control and make harmless a
supernatural being by imitating his external appearance and his
movements, is shown particularly in the mask-dances. Mask-
dances occur among many of the lower peoples, but seem to be
especially characteristic of the Melanesians, of the negroes of
West Africa, and of some Indian tribes in North and South
America. They are mentioned as a peculiar feature of the
religious life of the secret societies which are found in these
parts of the world.

The masks are generally very grotesque and terrifying, and

RELIGIOUS CULT

234

usually represent the spirits of the dead. [23] Since the spirits
frequently appear in the shape of animals, one can understand
the common occurrence of masks representing various animal
beings. The wearer identifies himself with these spirits and thus
gains power over them. In reality, the masks are instruments
of magic, comparable with drums, gourds, bull-roarers, etc.
The principle underlying their use is the same as that underlying
all imitative magic : a spirit, like a man, is controlled and mastered
by being externally imitated. The essence of the demon is caught
in his image, just as the soul of a human being is caught by a
photograph of him or by his name.

It is appropriate to point out that the whole decorative art of
uncivilized peoples is obviously closely associated with magical
practices, a fact that I have shown particularly in regard to the
ornamental art of the South American Indians. [24] The orna-
mental figures which they apply to their bodies and clothes, to
their clay vessels, weapons and implements, the w'alls of their
houses, etc., usually represent evil spirits which in this way are
kept at bay. We may say that the paintings represent a permanent
rite of protection. Similar facts exist in the Malay Archipelago,
where native art is magical in much the same sense as in South
America.

The fact that masks, as also flutes, bull-roarers, and other
magical instruments, were used primarily at death-feasts, as a
means of protection against dangerous disease and death-demons,
explains why they w^ere afterwards regarded as taboo to uniniti-
ated [>ersons, especially to women and children. It is generally
believed that the latter will die if they touch the instruments or
merely look at them. The dangerous taboo of the death-spirit
is attached to them and acts mechanically like electricity. This
is the reason why mask-dances take place as a rule at remote
places or in special “ club-houses to which women and children
arc not admitted.

Among typical magical rites the totem ceremonies may be
included. Tw^o main kinds of totem ceremonies can be dis-
tinguished. To the first category belongs dancing. All partici-
pants are masked to resemble the totem animal, for instance by
wearing its skin if it is a quadruped, and the aim of the dance is
to influence the soul or spirit which inhabits it. To the second
category belong ceremonies at which a speciman of the totem
animal is solemnly killed, generally at a special epoch of the year.

THE CONTROL OF SPIRITS

235

A small part of its flesh is then eaten by members of the clan
whose totem of animal it is. To this class belong notably the
famous Australian intichiuma-c^rtmomtSy mentioned earlier.
It should be noted, however, that magical ceremonies of exactly
the same nature exist in the New World, although the animal
need not necessarily be a totem animal.

Such are, for instance, the customs observed by the Cherokee
Indians after the killing of an eagle, and the ceremonies performed
by the Xingu Indians with the game killed in hunting. These
ceremonies are not, as explained by Robertson Smith, “ cult
acts ** in a religious sense, but have a purely magical significance.
Their object is not to establish any mysterious union with the
individual, the whole community and its totem animal, con-
ceived as a god, but to influence magically the animal, or its
spirit, in one direction or another.

Mask-dances are often resorted to for this purpose. Typical
in this respect are the ceremonies which the Mandans, a Dacotah
tribe, performed at one time with a view to increasing and multi-
plying their staple food, buffalo meat and Indian com. It was
a standing rule of the Mandan village that every man must
possess the skin of a buffalo’s head with the horns. This he had
to keep in constant readiness so that he might be able, at a
moment’s notice, to don it as a mask. So disguised, he would be
able to turn out and dance for buffaloes in the public square,
whenever the chiefs might command him to do so. Sometimes
the dancers wore the entire skins of buffaloes, complete with
horns, hoof, and tail. The order to dance was given whenever
no buffaloes had been seen for some time and the pressure of
hunger began to be felt in the village. In dancing, the men,
wearing the head and horns of a buffalo, and armed with the
bow or spear with which they were accustomed to slaughter the
beasts, would sally out into the public square and there stamp,
grunt, and bellow in imitation of buffaloes. As each grew tired
he signified it by bending forward and sinking towards the
ground ; whereupon one of his fellows would draw his bow and
hit him with a blunt arrow. The man so stmck then dropped
like a dead buffalo and was dragged out of the ring by the heels
by the bystanders, who brandished their knives over him and
went through the motions of skinning and cutting him up. All
the time the drums were beating, the rattles rattling, and the
spectators singing or yelling themselves hoarse ; and all the time

RELIGIOUS CULT

236

the sentinels on the neighbouring hills were straining their eyes
to catch the first sight of the herd in the distance. [25]

Every year in spring, the Mandans performed regularly
another magical ceremony for buffaloes. The intention of this
annual rite was not to ensure the killing, but rather the procrea-
tion of buffaloes. The actors were dressed up like buffaloes as
in the other ceremony; but the scene they acted was not the
slaughter of the beast but the leap of the buffalo bull on the
buffalo cow. [26]

These magical ceremonies of the Mandans which were based
on the principle of imitative magic and were thought to produce
the effects they mimicked, are by no means confined to totemic
peoples. In fact, they had no essential connection with totemism.
Pantomimic dances of this kind are quite common at a low
level of culture. In South America, for instance, they occur
among many tribes with no totemic clan organization. On the
other hand, ceremonies essentially totemic, are found, for
instance, among the Tlingits. Each Tlingit clan had its badge
or crest consisting of some easily recognized part of its totemic
animal or bird. These crests were carved or painted on houses,
canoes, paddles, household utensils, etc., while on solemn occa-
sions such as dances, memorial feasts, and funeral ceremonies,
men often appeared completely disguised in the shape of their
totemic animals, were represented in dresses, masks, and so forth.
The Tlingits also mimicked the totemic animal or object by
their gestures. Totems like mountains and rocks were imitated.
For example, a dancer who represented a mountain would
imitate the clouds which rested on its side in fine weather or
completely covered it in bad. [27] These rites were no doubt
magical in essence. They represented the particular relation-
ship in which the Tlingits believed themselves to stand to those
animals and objects they revered as totems.

Numerous other religious rites which, aiming at the control of
spirits by magical means, could be quoted from different parts
of the world. Many of the superstitious practices in Australia,
for instance, mentioned by Sir James Frazer in the first volume
of his The Golden Bought practices involving attempts to injure
enemies by magical images, to control the weather, etc., assume,
in fact, the operation of spirits and may therefore be classed in
this category. Even in many of the cases where, according to
Sir James Frazer, we have “ pure ” sympathetic magic, that is,

THE CONTROL OF SPIRITS

^37

one event in nature following another by necessity, and invariably
“ without the intervention of any spiritual or personal agency ”,
it seems to me highly probable that in reality, spirits or souls
are thought to act in some way. In any case, a fundamental
distinction between a purely magical and a religious stage in the
evolution of thought of the kind involved in Sir James Frazer’s
well-known theory cannot be upheld practically.

In South America I myself came across many native customs
which seemed to be purely magical, but nevertheless, on closer
examination, appear to assume the intervention of spiritual
agencies. Thus, for instance, the Chaco Indians try to “ hasten ”
the rain by the drumming or shaking of rattle gourds, just as they
believe that the ripening of the fruits can be promoted in this
way. [28] It may be that by the very rhythm of the movements
the beating of the drums and the shaking of the rattles are
supposed to influence the weather in a purely mechanical way,
but at the same time supernatural beings are worked upon. By
the magical instruments and the chanting, those evil spirits which
are believed by the natives to keep the rain back or prevent
the fruits from ripening, are frightened away, while the good
spirits which animate the useful plants are summoned or favour-
ably influenced. [29] Such customs occur all over the world
and show us how extremely difficult it is to make a definite
distinction between “ magic ” and “ religion ” even in the
practices of primitive peoples.

CHAPTER XIV

PURIFICATION CEREMONIF^

A MONO magical rites we may further mention the purification
-/a ceremonies, which are common among the lower cultures
and in some cases assume the character of real acts of worship.
In order fully to understand them we must start from the con-
ception of taboo already dealt with, and from those ideas of
ritual impurity current among uncivilized peoples.

In its most characteristic forms the notion of taboo, as one has
seen, is of animistic origin, although at higher stages of evolution
it frequently seems to pass into the idea of an impersonal magical
“ power ” or potency. We arrive at the materialistic concep-
tion of sin which is characteristic of barbarous peoples. The
conception of “ sin however, implies that the primitive idea
of physical and spiritual defilement has become associated with
certain ethical ideas.

Here we have a department of thought where we can observe
the gradual amalgamation of religion and morals. In fact, one
of the most interesting aspects of religious evolution is that
which shows how, from the idea of physical pollution and
physical purification, man has arrived at the notion of spiritual
and ethical impurity or sin, and the notion of ethical purification
or atonement. Certain higher religions, such as Mazdeism,
ancient Greek and Peruvian religion, and early Christianity,
are characteristic of this evolution of ideas. In this book, which
deals mainly with primitive religion, the moral aspect of puri-
fication ceremonies can only be touched on.

The ideas of ritual purity or impurity, expressed in the taboo
regulations of the lower peoples, take on a religious significance
owning to the fact that certain objects, conditions, and acts are
intimately associated with evil or “ impure ” spiritual beings or
demons. Typical instances have been mentioned in a previous
chapter. Thus everything connected with the generative pro-
cesses and sexual life is impure, especially in the woman, and
so is bloodshed in general.

PURIFICATION CEREMONIES 239

Hence, for instance, the dangerous impurity attaching to
child-birth; evil spirits are believed to swarm round both
mother and child. A murder or manslaughter does not merely
defile the evil-doer, but the whole community where the deed
took place. The impure person, it should be understood, is not
only himself in a state of taboo, but he may defile others by
touching them and expose them to the same mysterious dangers.
Disease and death defile. The corpse, to which the taboo of
death, i,e. a dangerous impure demon, is attached, is regarded
as a source of infection or defilement fatal, perhaps, to those
coming into contact with it. Moreover, as is the case with the
murderer, such an impure person is likely to defile other mem-
bers of the community to which he belongs. The defilement in
such cases is purely automatic and acts independently of the
intention and character of the person concerned. That food
itself, and especially animal food, may be polluted and dangerous
in a religious sense, we have already seen, also the fact that this
pollution is due in many cases to the supernatural associations
of certain animals. This being the case, ceremonial fasting may,
of course, assume the form of a purification.

The fact that certain kinds of impurity are associated in the
lower cultures with evil spirits explains why such impurity may
be identical with sin, that is, with an act which brings down
upon man the anger of the gods. Just as the gods are enemies of
the demons, so they become enemies of the sin and sinner.
Moreover, according to primitive belief, certain impure sub-
stances are the seat of a mysterious magical energy which may be
dangerous even to the gods. The idea of sin, therefore, cannot
be fully developed until the polytheistic stage is reached,
where gods and demons stand ranged as diametrically opposed
powers.

But, at this stage, sin has not yet freed itself from its primitive
substratum of taboo and become an ethical notion in the proper
sense of the word. It does not consist in a certain state of mind,
in evil thoughts, words, or acts, but in an external material im-
purity which can become attached to man. When conceived in
this materialistic way, sin of course can be removed by external
material means. Everj^here rites of this category assume prim-
arily a magical character. Materials are used for the purification
which are supposed to have the power of expelling evil spirits.
Among these are water, salt, ashes, blood, oil, wine, certain kinds

RELIGIOUS CULT

240

of incense, and, last but not least, lire, the strongest existing
means of purification.

The most common purifier is water. Not only has it natural
purifying power, but it also receives a mysterious supernatural
energj^ through the incantations pronounced over it. As a
ceremonial purifier, water, as also fire, is used by uncivilized
peoples all over the world, just as such purificatory rites are
known to have been practised in the ancient civilizations, [i]
When savage peoples dip their new-born children in cold water,
this is most probably not merely a natural hardening and wash-
ing process, but also a magical ceremony; it is the equivalent
of Christian baptism.

As an instance of the way in w^hich savages still practise
“ baptism ” I may mention a custom of the Jibaro Indians. As
soon as a death has taken place in a house, the other households
are at once informed by the beats of the large signal drum. The
head of each family takes a gourd with water and with it wets
the crowm of the head of every child in the house. This cere-
mony is believed to protect the child against the disease-demon,
who is seeking more victims in other houses.

In higher polytheistic and monotheistic religions lustrations
of this kind, bv which the sins are literally “ washed awav”,
play an important part. The ancient natives of India regarded
sin as a kind of contagion which could pass from a person to
his descendants; and they tried to liberate themselves from it
through lustrations by means of water and fire. Among the
modem Hindus, no sin considered is so hideous that it cannot
be washed away in the sacred waters of the Ganges. Lustra-
tions of the same nature were common in ancient Greece, where,
for instance, blood-guilt had to be atoned for by such purification
ceremonies. In Hellenic ritual the blood of swine was fre-
quently employed for cathartic purposes, a mysterious magical
potency being ascribed to it. Great general purification cere-
monies were arranged annually in ancient Greece. Through
these the whole community, and especially the temples of the
gods, were purified from the accumulated impurity of the year,
which was burnt or otherwise removed. The ceremony com-
plete, the community was again pure and could approach its
gods with hope of success. [2] Magical lustrations played a very
important role in the ancient Veda religion and in Mazdeism.
Atharva-Veda, the latest part of the Veda, like the part of the

PURIFICATION CEREMONIES 241

Avesta called Vendidad, are both sacred books containing
prescriptions as to ceremonial purifications.

Extremely characteristic of the ideas current in barbaric
culture were those purificatory rites performed by the ancient
Peruvians at their great annual purification feast called citua.
This took place in the month of September, the beginning of
the rainy season, when epidemic diseases frequently occurred.
Before the feast began, all strangers, all those whose ears were
broken, all deformed persons, were sent two leagues out of the
city. They were said to be in a state of punishment for some
fault and so could not take part. Unfortunate people should
not be present because their ill-luck might drive away some
piece of good fortune. They brought the figures of their huacas
from all parts of the land and placed them in the temples at
Cuzco. When everything was ready, the Inca arrived with the
nobles and most of the people and passed to Curicancha (the
temple of the Sun). Here they stayed waiting till the new
moon rose. When the people saw the new moon, they all went
to the market-place at Cuzco, pleading loudly that all diseases,
disasters, misfortunes, and dangers might leave the country.
When the shouts began at Cuzco, all the people, rich and poor,
came to the doors of their houses crying out, shaking their
mantles and shouting: “ Let the evils be gone. How greatly
desired has this festival been to us. O Creator of all things, per-
mit us to reach another year that we may see another feast like
this.” And they proceeded to shout until they reached certain
sacred rivers. Every clan marched in a different direction,
shouting loudly in order to drive the evil into the river situated
in that direction. All danced, even the Inca himself. In the
morning they went out to the rivers and fountains and bathed,
saying that in this way their maladies would leave them. The
rivers selected for this purpose were those which flowed rapidly to
the sea, and were accordingly well suited for carrying away disease.

When the people had finished bathing they took great torches
of straw, bound round with cords. These they lighted and
passed from one to another, striking one another and saying:
“ May all evils go away.” They tJien went to their houses,
where a kind of paste made of mashed maize had been prepared.
This paste they rubbed on their faces, also anointing the door-
steps with it. [3]

These are the essential features of the feast dtna as it is

RELIGIOUS CULT

242

described by ancient Spanish chroniclers. The feast has many
details in common with similar purification ceremonies among
other half-civilized peoples. Their meaning is clear without
need of further explanation.

We meet primarily the idea that disease, misfortune, and
evil of any kind are caused by evil spirits which at certain critical
times appear in greater numbers and cause more harm than at
others ; there was also the belief that these invisible tormentors
may be expelled from a village or country by physical means,
much in the same way as a swarm of flies is driven away from
a room. We gather further that — as is often the case in the lower
cultures — spiritual evils were conceived by the ancient Peruvians
in a half-materialistic way, in other words as a kind of physical
pollution which could be washed away in water or removed by
some other means.

Moreover, the idea of material and spiritual pollution is
associated at a certain stage of religious evolution with ideas
of moral transgression. The Inca ritual just described is of
special interest as illustrating, not only the materialistic con-
ception of sin, but also the union of religion and ethics in its
elementary form. Attention may be called to the detail that,
before the feast began, all strangers, all “ whose ears were
broken, and all deformed persons ”, were expelled from the city
“ because they were said to be in that state as a punishment
for some fault According to a primitive idea, which in South
America anyhow is quite common, sickness and deformity of
any kind in new-born children is the result of supernatural in-
fluence. Persons suflFering from any congenital disease are con-
sequently regarded as ” marked ” by evil spirits. In the more
advanced religious dogma of the Incas this idea had developed
into the belief that such an unlucky state was not purely acci-
dental, but was due to the transgression of certain moral precepts.
But the way in which, among the ancient Peruvians, old savage
taboos were transformed into ethical rules of religious sanction,
can be studied with more detail in an Inca institution of singular
interest, the rite of confession, with which I shall deal later.
First something may be said about certain other purificatory
ceremonies which are quite primitive in nature.

Lustrations by means of fire are common in prinutive cultures.
In my chapter on taboo I have referred to these rites, as prac-
tised, for instance, at funerals. Since they are almost universal

PURIFICATION CEREMONIES

243

among the more primitive peoples I shall not mention further
instances here. I may add, however, that such fire ceremonies
occur as survivals in many European countries to this very day,
although, as generally happens, the ideas originally underlying
them have been lost. Those great fires which are kindled, for
instance, at midsummer, at Christmas, and at Easter, are no
doubt derived from old lustration rites through which evil
spiritual beings, hovering about in the air, were driven off or
destroyed. Likewise games, in which the participants have to
jump over fires or burning logs, or rites in which cattle are
driven over dying embers, are best explained as survivals of
old lustrations to which the practices of primitive peoples offer
numerous and close parallels. [4]

Although in the lower cultures,‘new-bom children are generally
purified with water, there are also instances where fire is used
for the same purpose. In this way, we may remember, it was
used by the ancient Greeks who purified a new-born child
by carrying it in solemn procession round the fire, or that of the
Israelites, sanctioned by Jahwe, according to which everything
first-bom was passed through fire.

The idea that sin consists in a sort of material impurity which
can be removed through external rites, was also familiar to early
Christianity. In the oldest Christian literature we frequently
meet with statements referring to the spiritual and material
defilement which man brings down upon himself by holding
communion with impure spirits, and of the “ purifications ”
through which he can free himself from them.

Magical ideas of this kind appear in the mystery ceremonies
by which a heathen was initiated as a member of the Christian
Church. The sacrament of baptism consisted simply in a series
of formulae of exorcism which did not differ essentially from
those practised in the heathen mysteries. In order that a
heathen should be able to enter at baptism into a new union
with Christ, the old union with the devils, for all heathen gods
were regarded as devils by the Christians, had to be broken.
In the sacrament of baptism, therefore, one could distinguish
between a negative side, “ the renunciation of the Devil and
all his works,” as well as the exorcism performed by the priest,
and a more positive aspect, the act of baptism itself. The most
important effects were attributed to the ceremony with the
water, which was regarded as indispensable.

RELIGIOUS CULT

244

The great importance attached by the Early Christian Church
to baptism as a means of definitely breaking the power of the
devil and of the evil demons, appears clearly from many state-
ments of early Christian Fathers such as Cyprian and Justin
MartjT, Tertullian, and Irenaeus. Cyprian, who in one of his
epistles specially deals with this question, admits that, in some
cases, the devil is able to defy even the exorcisms of the priest,
although these have divine power.

“ When, however,” he adds, ” they come to the water of
salvation and to the sanctification of baptism, we ought to know
and to trust that there the devil is beaten down and the man,
dedicated to God, set free by divine mercy. For as scorpions
and serpents, which prevail on dry ground, when cast into the
water, cannot prevail nor retain their venom, so also the wicked
spirits, which are called scorpions and serpents, are trodden
under foot by us, by the power given by the Lord, and cannot
remain any longer in the body of a man in whom, baptized and
sanctified, the holy spirit is beginning to dwell.” [5]

As soon as the baptism of infants became customary in the
Church, it was associated with the same magical acts as that of
adults. Both on account of the original sin attached to it and
because of those impure and sinful acts through which it had
come into being, the new-born child was naturally in the power
of the evil demons. Therefore, to be saved from eternal death
it had to be purified, as soon as possible, from the pollution
attaching to it, and this was effected through baptism. The
view that a child who died without having received the gift of
grace implied by baptism was eternally damned, was commonly
held during the first centuries of the Christian era and frequently
finds expression in the writings of the Christian Fathers, notably
in those of Augustine. [6] This view still survives in the in-
stitution called private baptism, just as the ceremony of the
churching of women was originally a cathartic rite that purged
away the dangerous pollution of child-birth.

Besides direct purifications by means of water, fire, and so
forth, many peoples practise a sort of transference of sins by
means of purificatory sacrifices. The sacrifice, consisting of an
animal, living or slaughtered, is carried about the place polluted
by an impure act, such as a murder, and then brought in
contact with those persons who are to be purified, after which,
while magical formulae are pronounced, it is thrown over the

PURIFICATION CEREMONIES

245

boundary, buried, or made to disappear in some other way. Re-
ligious acts of this kind are familiar to us from ancient Greek
ritual. They also seem to have occurred among the Egyptians.
The latter, according to Herodotus, used to sever the head of
the animal with the prayer that it might bear the evils of the
community. They thereupon threw it into the river so that the
stream might carry away these evils, or else sold it to the Hellenes
wherever there happened to be a Hellenic market. [7] The evil
was thus safely removed from their own community. Of the
Greeks, Pausanias mentions a similar purification ceremony which
he witnessed at Methana in Troezen, and which had for its object
to avert the influence of a harmful wind, called “ lips which
rushed down from the Saronic gulf and dried up the tender shoots
of the vine. When the squall was at its height two men took a
white cock, tore it in two, and ran round the vines in opposite
directions, each carrying one half of the cock. When they came
back to their starting-point, they buried the cock. [8]

When this type of “ sacrifice consists of a living animal, it
has the character of what has been called a “ scapegoat The
ideas connected with these scapegoats can be clearly seen in a
custom of the Israelites. This was one of the many ceremonies
observed on the “ day of atonement ”, described in the Book of
Leviticus.

After certain preliminaries, which aimed at “ atoning ” the
sanctuary, i.e, to purify it by sprinkling it with the blood of
certain animals, a living goat was brought forth. The high
priest “ confessed over him all the iniquities of the children of
Israel . . . putting them on the head of the goat”; after this,
since the animal was highly “ sin-infected ”, both Aaron and
the man who led it away into the wilderness, had to wash and
change their clothes. [9] This very primitive ceremony has its
equivalent in many similar rites among barbarous tribes at the
present day. On this point I need only refer to the instances
mentioned by Sir James Frazer in his work The Scapegoat,

Sometimes a human being may serve as a scapegoat and fulfil
exactly the same function as the animal. He may be put to
death, or driven over the border, thus carrying away the sins
of the tribe. Such a human scapegoat was the “ purifying
man ” (kathdrma) in the Attic festival of the Thargelia, who was
led through the streets, whipped with rods, and at one time
burnt. [10] Another example is the slave at Marseilles, who

RELIGIOUS CULT

246

was fattened and reverentially treated for a year, and then led
forth in solemn procession through the streets and expelled from
the city, with prayers that on him might fall all the evils of the
community, [ii]

These rites are merely instances of a magical transference of
sin, originally independent of the higher gods and essentially
non-ethical in character. Even the Israelites’ rite of atonement
was considered effective because of the sacred act itself, without
the necessit}' of any particular change of heart or repentance on
the part of the community to be purified. The goat, laden with
the sins of the people and driven into the desert, expiated the
sins of ever)' Israelite who did not frustrate the beneficial effects
of the rite of atonement by intentionally violating the prescrip-
tions of his religion.

Even, however, in such magical practices as those referred to
above, one can trace the rudiments of an ethical view. In the
first place it is the impurity itself which arouses the anger of the
gods, since, owing to its harmful magical potency, it may become
dangerous to them. Gradually, however, a change takes place
as the result of the growing conception of the impurity as a sin,
not merely in a ritual, but also in an ethical sense. In many
cases we can trace the transition from one view to the other.
A murder or manslaughter, for instance, is not a crime merely
in a social and ethical sense, but implies also a magical pollution,
a primitive taboo.

In certain higher religions such as Mazdeism, one finds the
two views directly connected. This religion, as we know, con-
ceived everything evil, as sent by Ahriman, material or moral.
Consequently it could be expelled by means of purifications and
rites of atonement. Murderers, adulterers, liars, thieves, were
looked upon as being in the service of the evil demons. [12]
We find the same in regard to ancient Peruvian religion, espe-
cially in connection with the peculiar kind of confession which
existed in the Inca empire.

Without doubt confession must be regarded as a form of
purification. The “ speaking out ” of sin amounts to a real
purgation and deliverance, especially at those stages in the
evolution of thought where words are viewed as things and as
controlling things. This is what confession meant in the
preliminary ritual of the Samothracian mysteries, as also in the
Mexican religion, where, according to Father Sahagun, it was

PURIFICATION CEREMONIES

247

associated with purification and the idea of rebirth. An inter-
esting formula of confession is found among the Babylonian
liturgical tablets. The penitent prays to the god and the
goddess : “ Let the seven winds carry away my sighs ... let the
bird bear my wickedness to the heavens : let the fish carry off
my misery, let the river sweep it away. Let the beast of the
field take it from me. Let the waters of the river wash me
clean.’’ [13] This confession is half a prayer, half a purification,
and conspicuous in it is the magical potency ascribed to the
spoken word.

The most interesting example of confession in barbaric re-
ligion, however, is the one which was in vogue among certain
half-civilized peoples in South America. At one time, a primi-
tive kind of confession was practised as a means of curing sick-
ness. Even to-day this custom is known among a few Chibcha
tribes in Colombia.

A confession of this nature is mentioned by the Swedish
traveller Bolinder, in reference to the half-civilized Ijca Indians.
They think that disease may be cured not only by the usual
magical manipulations, but also the confession of sins. The
sickness has been sent by the spirits, and the task of the medicine-
man is to find out why they are displeased with the sufferer.
A mysterious object, made of the leaves surrounding a maize-
cob, and certain cotton-threads of different colours, serve as
the material vehicle for the expulsion of the sickness. The
medicine-man {mama) exhorts the patient to think of a possible
wrong, and confess it. While the latter is sitting and thinking,
the mama is handling his divining bag. He strikes it on the
ground. From the clang of the small stones in it he draws
conclusions as to whether or not the sufferer has confessed
everything. If the confession is supposed to be complete, there
follows the usual expulsion of the sickness by means of the
magical objects mentioned. The patient himself, moreover, has
to do a certain penance. [14]

Specially interesting in this type of case is the fact that,
although the savage idea of sickness and its magical treatment
is conspicuous, the conception of the evil which caused the
sickness is associated with a certain ethical element. This ethical
feature in primitive confession, practised as a means of curing sick-
ness, is also pointed out by Dr. Bolinder in regard to the medical
art of the Ijca. When a misfortune of some kind happens

RELIGIOUS CULT

248

to him the sufferer is thought in one way or another to have
incurred the righteous anger of the spirits. [15] As long as this
moral cause remains hidden, its effects will continue, and the
patient cannot recover. But as soon as it is brought out to the
light of day, the effects are neutralized, rendered powerless,
especially since confession of a sin may also include repentance,
that is a wish that the wrong action were undone, and a resolu-
tion not to repeat it.

Confession in sickness is therefore probably conceived as
having spiritual as well as purely physical effects. If a moral
purge of this kind produces the same favourable effects as a
purification by means of which a miasma or pollution is washed
off, one can understand how, through an easy association of
ideas, the notions of the material and the spiritual become fused
in the conception of “ sin

In the Inca Empire, it was a common thing for individuals
afflicted by disease and misfortune to have recourse to confes-
sion, believing that thereby they would be rid of their troubles.
But in addition to this private confession, there was another
and more important type of confession which aimed, not at the
welfare of the individual, but at the welfare of the community
or state; in fact, it was a social duty incumbent on any body
who had transgressed certain divine or human laws. When
the inhabitants were threatened by famine through a prolonged
drought, or by an epidemic or some other public calamity, it
was believed that the gods were angry because of some sin or
crime committed in the community. When the person sus-
pected to have “ sin ** (hucha) was found, he had to confess
before the ichuris (priests). The confession took place close to
a river, whither went the priest and penitent, the former carry-
ing a bundle of esparto grass and certain other magical things.
The penitent then had to confess all his sins, whereupon the
confessor threw the bundle into the river, cursing the sins and
praying to the gods that they would take them down into the
abyss and hide them there for ever. Lastly the penitent bathed
in the river, and w^as thus Anally purified from his sins. The
sins which the Peruvians had to confess were chiefly the follow-
ing: omission to revere the Sun, the Moon, and the huacas;
omission to celebrate the feasts of the raymis^ which’ were those
of each month of the year; calumniation of the Inca and dis-
obedience to his orders; murder, whether violently or secretly,

PURIFICATION CEREMONIES

249

that is, by means of sorcery, and theft, even of things of small
value; assaults and plunders on the road, adultery or fornica-
tion, since the law of the Inca forbids the touching of a strange
woman or the seduction of a virgin; plots against the Inca or
murmurs, especially when they were directed against the ruler
and his law. [16]

As we find, the sins to be confessed in ancient Peru were
partly offences of a religious nature, partly crimes against life
and property. This being so, it is easy to understand that
confession, in the Inca Empire, had a great social and moral
importance. But at the same time it had the character of a
primitive purification ceremony. The question how the sins of an
individual person could be believed to cause drought, frost, and
other public misfortune and how in their conceptions of “ sin ”
and “ purification ”, in general, the Peruvians were able to rise
from a purely material to a spiritual and moral plane, remains
one of the interesting but difficult problems of the history of
religion.

As I have tried to show elsewhere, [17] the explanation must be
sought essentially in the dualistic character of ancient Peruvian
religion, which in some respects recalls that of the Avesta.
Two powers were opposed, on the one hand the unseen world
of the evil spirits, on the other, the world of the higher gods:
Viracocha, the Sun, Thunder and Lightning, the Moon and the
other huacas. The former, the demons, as is the case with other
barbarous peoples, were looked upon as the cause of disease and
epidemics, drought, hail, and frost, eclipses of the sun and the
moon, and of other misfortunes which befell the individual or
the whole community. The gods again not only sustained the
Inca state in a physical sense; they also represented a moral
order of the world of which the incarnation was the Inca ruler.

This moral order found a concrete expression in certain
positive and negative precepts, to keep from impure things, to
revere the gods, to respect life and property, and so forth.
Whoever violated these precepts committed an “ impure ”
action, an action which was likely to set the evil spirits in action
and diminish, in a higher or lesser degree, the power of the
gods and the power of the Inca ruler, who to the mind of the
Peruvians were closely associated.

It is remarkable that moral evils should be looked upon in the
same light as physical evils, both being associated with impure

RELIGIOUS CULT

250

demons. A person who committed an immoral deed was re-
garded, therefore, as standing in alliance with evil spirits. Any
person violating the moral order instituted by the Inca pro-
fessed his adherence to the supernatural enemies of that order.
The results of such a violation would necessarily be shown in
events marking the triumph of the demons, and would there-
fore be primarily of a physical nature, consisting of epidemics,
drought, famine, etc. This is the reason why the sins of an
individual were regarded as touching the whole community.
But since every crime implied an alliance with the evil spirits,
one can easily also understand why all rites by which the effects
of an immoral deed were neutralized assumed externally the
character of ordinary purification ceremonies.

In following the evolution of thought up to the point where
the “ purification ** which confession implies becomes a puri-
fication in a spiritual and moral sense, we have passed the limits
of primitive religion. The further development of this institu-
tion, in the Early Christian Church, for example, concerns us
here still less.

CHAPTER XV

SACRIFICE

S ACRIFICE as a means of influencing supernatural powers
is almost unknown to very backward tribes, whereas in the
highest religions it has disappeared as representing too naive
and materialistic an idea of the god. On the other hand, in many
polytheistic religions, it occupies so central a place that we may
regard it as the most important of all rites. Not until the fully-
developed institution of sacrifice is reached can we speak of a
religion in the proper sense of the word, that is of an organized
priesthood and congregation, or of real sanctuaries or temples
intended for the cult.

Sacrifices, however, may be of many different kinds, or rather
degrees, a fact which makes it almost impossible to set forth a
single theory of its nature. I merely call attention to the differ-
ences in the ideas of sacrifice according as it does or does not
include a magical element. But as we shall see, even magical
sacrifices may be of different kinds.

Sacrifice is therefore by no means as simple and easily
explained a religious custom as has often been alleged. The
attempt to find a single comprehensive explanation of this rite,
despite the different forms it takes, is the most important source
of misunderstanding of the religious phenomena connected with
it, especially when these “ theories ” have been advanced by the
adherents of rival anthropological “ schools

This may be said even of such primitive sacrificial practices as
offerings at graves. Whenever archaeologists have found in old
graves objects which seemed to serve no practical purpose, they
have explained them as “ offerings ” laid down with the dead to
be used by them in the after-life in the same way as on earth. In
many cases this may be the explanation, but the fact has been
overlooked that even “ grave-offerings may be of different
kinds. There is an important category of objects laid down in
graves which are not offerings at all. They are simply magical
amulets intended to protect the corpse against the evil spirits

251

RELIGIOUS CULT

252

who cause decomposition. The very fate of the soul after death,
as we have seen, depends largely on the conservation of the
body.

Despite this diversity, one can make a general distinction
between the bloodless offerings consisting of material objects or
food, and blood sacrifices, consisting of slaughtered animals or
men. The custom of offering small gifts to supernatural beings
from time to time in order to propitiate them, is familiar even to
verj^ primitive peoples, although comparatively rare. The real in-
stitution of sacrifice, involving the regular offering of slaughtered
animals or men to gods, occurs only among peoples at a higher
level of culture. Such an institution assumes, among other
things, that cattle breeding is highly developed, and forms
the main livelihood of the people in question. Within both
categories magical ideas may play a more or less important part.

The earliest and most simple form of sacrifice is no doubt
that which has the character of a gift to the deity. Primitive
peoples believe that they can acquire the favour of the spirits or
gods by gratifying their appetites or their desire for property.
The anthropomorphic conception of the beings worshipped is
natural since the spirits and gods of the lower races seem in most
cases to be merely apotheosized men, or souls of the departed.
These offerings are only one aspect of a religion whose original
object in all cases was to propitiate or avert evil spirits. Such
offerings, intended to avert evil spirits, are still quite common
among savage tribes which, like the South American Indians,
for instance, have not yet reached the stage where sacrifice is
a recognized institution. Father Gumilla relates of the Indians
of the Orinoco that at their marriage feasts, in which they
thought evil spirits might interfere, they are in the habit of
throwing a plate of food out in the forest, calling out in a loud
voice: “ Take this food, thou dog of a demon, and do not come
and spoil our feast.” On asking the Indians why they performed
this and other ceremonies at the feast, the priest received the
answer: ” It is because we fear the demon.” [i] Here is a
typical ceremony of riddance with the external character of a
sacrifice. Many parallels could be mentioned. Among the
Toba Indians in the Gran Chaco, for example, it is customary
for the medicine-man, when curing a patient, to try and bribe the
disease-demon by offering him tobacco. It is said to be a pro-
pitiatory gift to the demon. The real idea is that the narcotic plant

SACRIFICE 2S3

will stupefy the spirit and compel him to leave the patient. In
other words, it is an offering wholly magical in character. [2]

Among the Quichua and Aymara Indians of the mountain
regions of Peru and Bolivia, who, although now half-civilized
and nominally Christians, are extremely superstitious, such
magical offerings are very common. According to early Spanish
chroniclers, the ancient Peruvians used to throw chewed coca,
plumes of various colours, rags, and similar useless things into
dangerous abysses at certain sacred places. These offerings
also were merely rites to keep off the evil spirits, which haunted
these places. [3]

In our own day the Quichua or Aymara Indian, when he has
to pass a steep hill, a precipice, a rapid torrent, or some other
dangerous place in the mountains, never fails to throw down
quids of coca to the spirits residing there, in order to secure a
safe passage. Similar coca-offerings are made to the demons
haunting mysterious caves, and quids of coca, thrown by super-
stitious Indians, are often found attached to the walls. [4] The
coca is a poisonous narcotic plant and so among the Indians is a
typical magical sacrifice. Sacrifices of this kind, for instance,
are familiar from ancient Greek ritual ; they were directed to the
dangerous spirits of the under-world, and had an apotropaeic
(averting) character. The same may possibly be said of the
honey-cakes and mead which were offered to the dead. [5] Of
such a character, among many uncivilized peoples, are the objects
deposited in the graves along with the dead body or thrown into
them by occasional visitors. [6]

In other cases magical offerings have a more positive aim,
namely, to transfer power directly to a natural object or to the
spirit living there, or, at higher polytheistic stages, to the gods
themselves. When the Aymara Indians build a house they
perform a kind of sacrifice called tincat. Under each comer of
the house is placed a small bundle, containing the foetus of a
llama, the foetus of a pig, a piece of llama’s tallow, the leaves of
a certain plant brought from another part of the country, and
coca leaves. The bundles have to be prepared the night before
the house is constructed, and only by men ; they are then buried
together with strong Indian pepper, sugar, and salt. [7] This
sacrifice is believed to give stability to the new house, and, in
view of the magical nature of its components, its virtue obviously
lies in the mysterious power it contains. The Lapps used to

RELIGIOUS CULT

254

anoint the logs which supported their primitive dwellings and
their doors with bear’s blood. According to their belief, this
contained much power. [8] The Siberian shamans used to
smear their shaman costumes and drums with the blood of
slaughtered animals [9] — believing, no doubt, that this would
enhance their magical efficacy.

Many such instances could be mentioned, but the more inter-
esting cases are those where such magical offerings are directed
to higher divinities or gods. It may be pointed out at once, that
the so-called votive offerings in polytheistic religions are often
magical in character. They consist in all manner of objects hung
up in temples or sacred groves as gifts to the gods, or, more
strictly speaking, as payment for services which they have done
to the giver, or are expected to do in the future. In time of
need, or when success in an important undertaking is desired, the
w’orshipper promises to give his god presents. Later, w^hen the
gods have complied with the worshipper’s requests, these prom-
ises are redeemed. These votive offerings played an important
part, for instance, in Greek religion, [10] and in many cases con-
sisted in things believed to exert a magical influence on the god
— a fact w'hich, of course, did not prevent their being offered to
him as real gifts.

On the whole, sacrifice, like religious ritual in general, among
the lower races is based mainly on self-interested consider-
ations. Sacrifice has the character of a barter, that is, of an
exchange of presents. When visiting a savage tribe, a traveller
who receives presents, ought to know that they always involve
the giving of something in return. The same rule is considered
to be valid with supernatural powers. Every offering of gifts
or of blood sacrifices takes place on the tacit assumption that in
return, the spirits or gods have no alternative but to grant the
worshipper his desires, such as luck and success in all his under-
takings, and victory over enemies ; at least it is expected that they
will withhold their wrath. This view explains the moral in-
dignation with which the Lapp smashed his seita or the West
African fetish priest his fetish when, despite all sacrifices and
promises, the desired result was not forthcoming.

I shall now deal with sacrifice in the proper sense of the word,
that which consists above all in the offering of slaughtered
animals, sometimes even of human victims. On a superficial
view we may be surprised at the unequal distribution of blood

SACRIFICE

255

sacrifices in primitive and barbarous cultures. They are entirely
unknown, for instance, to most of those North and South
American Indians who have preserved their original culture,
whereas they were equally particularly prominent among the
civilized peoples in the West, the Aztecs in Mexico and the Incas
in Peru. Similarly the institution of sacrifice was a character-
istic of the religious life of the Finno-Ugrian peoples, and
occupied a central place in the religion of certain Indo-European
peoples, especially in the Vedic and the Greek religion. This
unequal occurrence of sacrifice, however, has a natural explan-
ation. Animal sacrifice was developed out of animal slaughter,
and, in the New World for instance, domestic animals were
unknown to the primitive tribes east of the great culture areas,
except where they were introduced by the Europeans. It is
interesting to note that even among those tribes who have
been only recently introduced to the domestic animals of the
Europeans, and therefore have not yet developed any system of
sacrifice, the slaughter of animak always assumes a more or less
ceremonial character, as does also the consuming of the meat.
On the whole, among primitive peoples the meal itself, eating
and drinking, is generally more or less of a “ ceremony
while among more advanced peoples it becomes a sacrificial
“ meal

Closely connected with this view are the offerings of first-
fruits, The lower races attribute to the favour of the gods,
or to a particular god, all good fortune such as success in
agriculture and cattle breeding, and even wealth of progeny.
The idea arises easily, therefore, that the gods have a definite
right to a part at any rate of the good things they bestow upon
man. Just as it is considered necessary to offer to the gods the
first-fruits of the fields, or, as among the Israelites, even the
first-bom son, so at the slaughter of the domestic animals it is
pmdent to assign to the gods, a part of the flesh that serves man
as food. If the gods are deprived of their share, they might
avenge themselves. The prosperity of the rest of the domestic
animals and even of man’s own existence may be imperilled.
Besides, the idea often exists that malevolent spirits and gods of
dubious moral character are envious of men because of the good
things that they enjoy. To propitiate them and to escape their
visitations, the primitive worshipper considers himself bound
to allot to them a part of what he consumes himself. Even the

256 RELIGIOUS CULT

highly-cultured Greek had much to say about “ the envy of the

The species of animal selected for sacrifice is nearly always one
domesticated by the worshippers themselves. The Lapps offered
to their gods of their numerous reindeer, the ancient Peruvians of
their llamas. The latter, one is expressly told, never sacrificed to
their gods wild animals, such as the game killed in hunting.

In the higher cultures, sacrifices as a rule are performed in
special houses dedicated to the gods, called temples. But at
earlier stages of religious evolution the god is also generally
sought in a special sacred place where he is supposed to dwell,
and where the sacrifice can reach him as directly as possible.
Strictly speaking, the Greek word temenoSy from which the word
“ temple ” is derived, means a portion of land ‘‘ cut off When
the Greeks and Romans passed from their own land to that of
strangers, they generally did so with hesitation and dread. The
strange land was haunted by unknown spirits, in sympathy with
or under the control of enemies. The first thing the Greeks did
when occupying a foreign land by conquest or colonization, was
to detach a portion of it, a temenoSy to be the sacred abode of the
invisible powers who haunted the district and who, perhaps, had
been disturbed by the intruders. These temenoi were probably
not chosen arbitrarily, but usually were places which differed in
some striking way from the surrounding country and conse-
quently were believed to be inhabited by a local spirit or god. [i i]

But in olden times the Greeks offered sacrifices not only in
the open air, on hilk or in groves, but also in caves and caverns
believed to be haunted by supernatural beings. Porphyry, the
Neoplatonic philosopher, says that caves, through their mysteri-
ous character, are likely to fill the visitor with awe, and that the
ancients used to consecrate caves to their gods even before they
had found out how to build them temples. [12] Among the
Teutons, as among different Finno-Ugrian tribes, it was the
custom to offer sacrifices in sacred groves or in other localities
looked upon as the abodes of special deities, these places
generally being fenced round with a hedge. Only at the place
where he is supposed to dwell can the god be approached with
success. [13]

Real temples, therefore, occur comparatively late in the history
of religions. They appear in proportion as the institution of
sacrifice is developed. The complicated ritual, the images of

SACRIFICE

257

the gods, the sacrificial vessels, and other sacred objects, require
protection against rain and wind. Moreover, the temples, with
their adjacent and subsidiary buildings, frequently serve as
habitations for a numerous priesthood, as was the case, for in-
stance, in Egypt, Greece, Mexico, and Peru. The sumptuous
Greek temples were of late origin, like the Persian fire temples,
which do not appear until after 3 ie time of the Achaemenids. [14]
The Indians of the Vedic time had no temples. As to the
archaic American cultures, the two grand and sumptuous build-
ings which awakened admiration in the conquering Spaniards
were the Peruvian temple of the Sun at Cuzco, built of finely
polished stone blocks and covered inside with sheets of gold,
and the Aztec teokalti at Mexico. The Mexican ie^alliy
however, was not a temple in the ordinary sense, but rather a
gigantic altar with many stages. On the highest stage was the
sacrificial stone where the numerous human sacrifices were
performed.

These temples are “ sanctuaries ” in the proper sense of the
word. Often a whole religious symbolism is associated with
them. The Catholic view, according to which the Church is a
place belonging not to the natural world but to the kingdom of
God and permeated in all its details with holiness, can be par-
alleled in heathen pol)rtheistic religions. The Persian fire temple,
where the sacred fire was kept and the sacred drink haoma was
prepared, was in fact, as Professor Lehmann says, “ a small
world of its own with the vaulting of the heaven and the depth
of the sea, with trees and with rivers, and all elements, a micro-
cosmos of Purity, through which the whole nature and the
human life is purified and invested with divine powers.” Purity,
both external and internal, is also demanded of persons setting
foot in the sacred temple room, and especially of him who per-
forms the sacred rites.

The ritual of sacrifice itself and the ideas which are associated
with it may, of course, be very different in different religions.
For instance, those of the Finno-Ugrian peoples were quite
primitive. Their sacrifices were sometimes privately performed
by individuals or families, sometimes public ceremonies per-
formed in common by whole village communities. The worship
of the dead and family ritual played an important part among
the tribes of the Finno-Ugrian stock.

In the private cult, the sacrifices were performed by the
R

RELIGIOUS CULT

258

family father or mother, minor offerings of animals* skins, birds,
eggs, fish, butter, milk, ale, etc., being presented to the spirits.
The aim of these offerings of course was to promote the happi-
ness and welfare of the individual family. But when the
prosperity of the whole tribe was in question, sacrifices were
offered on a large scale. On such occasions the assistance of the
priest was considered necessary, and the sacrifices were both
numerous and costly. [15] The ritual, for instance among the
Ostyaks, was as follows: the sacrificial animal, having been
severely handled with various weapons, was led in a half-dead
condition three times round the idol, and then stabbed. The
blood was allowed to flow down into certain sacred vessels;
some of it was drunk by those who performed the sacrifice, with
the rest the idol was smeared round the mouth. Together with
the head, feet, and the tail, the skin was hung up in a tree in the
neighbourhood. The flesh was then boiled amidst the singing
of songs and great rejoicing. After the repast, the figure of the
idol was smeared with fat. Lastly the god, who was believed
to have taken part personally in the feast, was allowed to re-
turn to the heavens. [16]

Very solemn were the common sacrificial feasts among the
Votyaks, in which several village communities took part. The
sacrifices were directed, partly to the evil spirit Lud — originally
the name of the grove where sacrifices were offered to the powers
of Evil — partly to the real gods in other groves, where prayers
were also addressed to them. [17]

Of a similar character were the sacrifices of the Veda religion
in which, as is well known, they form the central feature.
Originally the Vedic sacrifice was simply a banquet arranged in
honour of the gods, who were the invited guests. The fire, the
offerings, and the hymns caused the gods to appear and take
their seat on the sacred lawn which spread before the altar.
Every kind of food and drink thought likely to please the gods
was presented, cakes of com and rice, milk and butter, the fat
and flesh of the sacrificial animals, and above all the sacred
drink soma. Incense, music, and dancing, as well as eulogies
and hymns, were believed to add to the enjoyment of the divine
guests. Certain self-interested calculations, however, were con-
nected with this entertainment. The people expected the gods
to show their gratitude towards the givers by helping them, by
protecting them against evil spirits and sickness, by granting

SACRIFICE

259

them wealth and honour, children and cattle and a long life.
Do ut des, “ I give you in order that you may give me,” was the
principle upon which the Vedic cult was based. [i8] This
element of self-interest, however, did not prevent the Vedic
sacrifice from having at the same time a purifying and atoning
significance in the primitive sense of the words.

Moreover, in these sacrifices, as in those of the Finno-Ugrian
peoples, the ” sacramental ” idea also finds expression to a cer-
tain extent, although not in the sense in which this word is used
in Robertson Smith’s well-known theory of sacrifice. The
sacrificial animal was not divine — neither in itself nor through
its consecration to the gods — still less was it a totem god. But
since, according to the primitive view, also partly preserved at
higher stages of culture, the common meal unites all those
taking part in it with invisible bonds, sacrificial meals such as
those referred to, in which both gods and worshippers take part,
unquestionably took on to a certain extent the character of
communion feasts.

An intimate relationship between those who made the sacri-
fice and the animal sacrificed was considered necessary. Hence
the sacrificial animals were nearly always domestic a n imals,
which primitive people regard as their kindred. On the other
hand, there had to be a certain similarity between the sacri-
ficial animal and the god or gods to whom the sacrifice was
directed. To powers of light, white animals were offered, to
the gods of the under-world, black animals, etc. Through the
sacrificial act, the animal was consecrated to the god. This
being so, it was natural that a certain relationship was, through
the common meal, established between the god and his wor-
shippers. While this idea certainly has a place in a religious
institution like the Vedic sacrifice, it was hardly the dominant
consideration. The main object of the rite was evidently more
practical, namely, to make the gods comply with the desires
of man.

Even the Greeks were familiar with the sacrificial meal. In
particular, the so-called theoxenia were essentially “ meals of the
gods ”, that is, banquets in which the gods eat together with
their worshippers. The Greek sacrifices belonged to two wholly
different categories, according as they were directed to the
heavenly light gods or to the spirits of the departed or heroes.
Sacrifices to the former were called thysia; they had to be

26 o

RELIGIOUS CULT

performed in the morning or at noon, and consisted of white
animals. When sacrifices were made to the light gods, certain
parts of the sacrificial animal were burnt. The gods were
believed to delight particularly in the smoke rising to the sky.
The bumt-sacrSices were performed on high altars, which in
some cases were made of the ashes of the animals sacrificed and
burnt. The offerings to the spirits of the departed and chthonic
deities were called spagia. They were performed at night, and the
sacrificial animals had to be black. The altars used were lower.
In the middle was a hole through which the blood of the sacri-
ficial animal was allowed to flow down into the grave. The
worshippers were not allowed to consume any portion of a
sacrifice offered to the gods of the under- world. Whoever did
so consecrated himself at the same time to the powers of the
under-world. [19] Even the Greek sacrifices had a practical
aim, inasmuch as the favour of the god was believed largely to
depend on the number of the sacrifices. At the great feasts,
hecatombs, or sacrifices consisting of a hundred oxen, were
sometimes offered, and in times of great distress and public
calamity even human sacrifices might be made.

From what has been said, the blood sacrifices no doubt were
originally founded on the idea that the gods would literally con-
sume if not the entire sacrifice, at any rate its essence or spirit-
ual part. But magical ideas of different kinds may also be
associated with the sacrifice. Even though there is no reason to
assume with one writer that sacrifice is in general derived from
magic, magical sacrifice plays a much more important part in
the lower religions than has commonly been realized.

First and foremost, sacrifice may be magical in the sense that
it is believed to exert an irresistible influence on the god to whom
it is addressed. To this category, for instance, belongs the
sacrifice which Dr. Westermarck mentions from Morocco, called
I'ar. Here the animal sacrificed serves as a vehicle for the trans-
ference of a conditional curse, through which a person or super-
natural being can be compelled to grant a request. [20] The
Veda religion serves as another interesting example of sacrifice
with a similar magical significance. Here there was not merely a
question of the moral constraint exerted by the sacrifice because
of its being in the nature of a barter. The Vedic sacrifice was
also supposed to exercise a physical constraint upon the gods,
compelling them in a sense to become the servants of man.

SACRIFICE

261

This power was primarily due to the prayer pronounced by the
chief priest or brahman at the sacrificial act. “ The gods grow
by the sacrifice,” we are told in the Veda, “ they get their power
from the offering; thus Indra is always strengthened % the
soma.” “ As the ox bellows for rain, so Indra is longing for
soma.” The soma drives him onwards like powerful gusts of
wind. He takes his weapons from the offering; men forge the
thunderbolt for him, put his arms in motion, [21] etc. The
magical character of sacrifice is clearly brought to light in such
statements of the Veda.

But the sacrifice may above all be magical in the sense that it
transfers to the god the power which is hidden in the sacrificial
victim, especially in those parts such as the blood, the heart,
and so forth. In order fully to understand this we have to grasp
an idea which is of considerable importance in the religion of
uncivilized peoples. We find it natural that such peoples con-
sider man to be dependent on the gods, but we have more
difficulty in understanding the reverse idea, namely, that the
gods are dependent on man, and literally need the sacrifices and
presents offered them. Yet this idea appears clearly in the
sacrifices of many barbaric peoples.

Sir James Frazer [22] has rightly shown that the gods of savage
peoples are not immortal but are subject to the same fate as men
and animals, in so far as they may lose their power and even
at last die. Where the regular course of things is supposed to be
dependent on the life and vigour of a god, or a heavenly body —
for instance the sun — in which he is incarnate, dire catastrophes
may be expected from the gradual failing of his powers and his
final extinction in death. Many peoples used to offer sacrifices
to the sun for this purpose. The offering made by the Vedic
Brahman in the morning was supposed to produce the sun, and
we are told that “ assuredly it would not rise, were he not to
make that offering.” [23] The ancient Mexican sacrifices to
the sun were typical instances of this kind. They regarded the
sun as the source of all vital force and therefore named him
Ipalnemohuani, i.tf. “ He by whom men live.” Since they lived
in constant fear of the sun losing his power, and no longer dis-
pensing warmth and life, they offered him the bleeding hearts
of men and animals to help maintain his vigour and enable him
to run his course across the sky. [24] The Mexican sacrifices
to the sun were thus designed, not so much to please and

262 RELIGIOUS CULT

propitiate him, as physically to renew his energies of heat, light
and motion.

The sacrifices of the ancient Peruvians were essentially the
same as those of the Aztecs. Even bloodless offerings, as we
have seen, are common among the Quichuas and Aymara of
the present day. As further instances in this category, illustrat-
ing the religious practices of the ancient Peruvians, their fre-
quent offerings of sea-shells may be mentioned. These seem to
have been exclusively offered to the spirits of the springs. The
springs were objects of worship because their spirits were be-
lieved to promote fertility. Sometimes the shells were thrown
into the springs w^hole, sometimes in pieces, sometimes they
were ground into powder. The peculiar nature of the offering,
and the way in which the shells were offered, suggest that there
must have been special magical ideas connected with the rite.

As a matter of fact, one of the ancient Spanish chroniclers,
the Father B. Cobo, S.J., assigns clearly the reason why sea-
shells in particular were offered to the springs. “ They say that
this was a sacrifice very appropriate to the springs because the
springs are daughters of the sea, which is the mother of the
waters; and according to the colour the shells had they offered
them for different purposes, sometimes entire, sometimes
ground very fine, sometimes only broken and parted ; they also
used to form certain figures of their powder and mass.** Cobo
adds that the Peruvians offered these sacrifices to the springs
when they had finished sowing, “ in order that the springs may
not dry out that year but flow abundantly and irrigate their
sowings.’* [25] From these statements it is seen that, in the
Peruvian shell-offerings to the springs, we have an interesting
instance of sympathetic magic. The shells, being “ daughters
of the sea”, contained something of the water-power of the
great ocean, and this power was transmitted to the springs by
offering sea-shells to them so that they would be enabled always
to bring forth water.

Among the Peruvians, the sacrifices to the higher gods gener-
ally consisted of llamas. The llamas were looked upon as
sacred animals because the souls of the dead were believed to
transmigrate into them. At the great feast, at any rate, the
sacrifices were performed in front of the statues of the most im-
portant gods, the Creator, the Sun, the Thunder and Lightning.
The following method was observed at the sacrificial act,

SACRIFICE

263

notably when llamas were offered. After having led the animal
several times round the idol, the priest seized it by the right
shoulder and turned its eyes towards the god to whom the sacri-
fice was to be made. He then made a special prayer offering it
to the god, and thereupon cut the throat of the victim. The
prayer seems to have been rather stereotyped and consisted
primarily of the phrase: “ O Creator, Sun, Thunder and Light-
ning, may you ever remain young, may you never grow old.’’
This prayer was directed ill particular to the Sun. He was also
besought to appear every day clear and benign, and never to
conceal his rays, so that the plantations might prosper. [26]

The procedure of leading the sacrificial victim round the idol
and turning its eyes towards the god before killing it was evi-
dently not merely a symbolical act, but had real significance.
The idol itself was a fetish in which the supernatural power of
the god was concentrated much in the same way as the electric
force is concentrated in a battery. Just as one needs to
recharge an electric battery from time to time, so the Peruvians
considered it necessary to augment the power of their gods.
This was effected by means of the sacrifice. The blood of the
llama, it must be understood, contained the same spiritual
power as the fetish-idol itself.

That this was in reality the idea underlying the sacrifices may
be inferred in particular from the prayer formula which accom-
panied them. Usually gods are besought by their worshippers
for all sorts of material benefits which they have it in their power
to bestow, but the request that they should “ ever remain young
and never grow old ” is singular. In summing up his statements
concerning the Peruvian cult. Father Cobo stresses the fact that
this was the real object of the sacrifices, at least when addressed
to the sun. “ The advantages which resulted from this,” he
says “ were two : the one to thank him for his care in illuminating
the earth and helping it to produce what is necessary for the
sustenance of men,” the other “ to give him strength always to
do so.” [27] The true motive for the sacrifice is undoubtedly
indicated in the latter part of Cobo’s statement. The power of
the god, in other words, his ability to send warmth and fertility,
depended on the sacrifices offered to him by his worshippers.
The same idea is expressed even more often in connection with
human sacrifices.

I may remark, however, that the ideas referred to were by no

RELIGIOUS CULT

264

means limited to peoples of the New World. The Lapps,
for instance, in sacrificing to the god of lightning, used to
smear his hammer with blood, evidently thinking that in this
way its efficacy was enhanced. As has been mentioned with
regard to the sacrifices of the Ostyaks, these people used to
smear the image of their god with blood and fat. In such cases
there is no question of feeding the gods in the ordinary sense of
the words. Their object was to impart strength to him and thus
enable him to continue helping his worshippers.

As regards human sacrifices. Dr. Westermarck has advanced
the theoiy^ that, in their different forms, they are based mainly
on the idea of substitution: one life is offered with a view to
saving other individuals whose lives are in danger. Angry and
revengeful gods must be appeased with human victims, thus
gratifying their appetite for human flesh and blood. In other
cases, an angry god may be appeased simply by the death of the
person or persons who aroused his anger. [28]

That human sacrifices are based on these ideas in some cases
cannot be doubted. But it is equally certain that there is an
important category of human sacrifices which are founded on
entirely different ones. I have already mentioned the magical
character of the Mexican sacrifices to the sun. Fundamentally
the same were the numerous human sacrifices consisting of
captives and slaves to the god of war, Huitzilopoctli. The
human sacrifices of the Aztecs were generally performed in this
manner. The victim, with hands and feet tied together, was
thrown on his back upon the sacrificial stone on the top of the
teokaUiy whereupon the priest cut open his breast with a stone
knife, tore out the heart and offered it, still palpitating, to the
god. [29] Since the heart is regarded as the seat of the soul or
vital power, the magical character of these sacrifices may be
inferred.

At the worship of the god of war it was customary to skin the
victims, after which their skins and skulls were hung up as
trophies, as it were, in the temple. In this case abo we meet
with the idea of a transference of power. It is the god of war
who gives the warriors strength and success, but that thb may
be possible, hb own power must be regularly revived, and thb
b done by means of human sacrifices.

The same idea evidently underlay the human sacrifices to the
god of Thunder and War, Tor, among the ancient Scandi-

SACRIFICE

265

navians. These were performed before a military expedition.
The heads of the victims were crushed and their bodies sus-
pended in the sacred grove at Upsala. [30] In this case, too,
we are probably not dealing with a propitiation of the god in the
ordinary sense of the word ; the object of the rite was rather to aug-
ment, in a purely mechanical way, the source of power from which
the strength, courage and success of the warriors was derived.

This idea is clearly seen in those human sacrifices which aim
at promoting fertility, or putting an end to or preventing famine.

Among many savage and barbarous peoples, blood sacrifices
of human victims are performed in connection with agriculture.
These often take place under circumstances which make it im-
possible to explain them as propitiatory or substitutional. One
of the best instances is supplied by the Khonds or Khands of
India, who at one time used to offer a human victim to their
earth-goddess, Tari Pennu, in order to secure an abundant crop,
immunity from disease and accidents, and general prosperity.

Our knowledge of these rites comes from accounts written
by British officers in the middle of the last century, and a full
description of them is given by Sir James Frazer. [3 1] Somewhat
different methods were followed in the different villages. In some
places they took the victim in a procession round the village from
door to door, when some plucked hair from his head, and others
begged for a drop of his spittle, w^ith which they anointed their
heads. When the victim had been killed, the priest divided the
body into two portions. One of these he offered to the earth-
goddess, by burying it in a hole in the ground with his face
averted. The other portion of the flesh he divided into as many
shares as there were heads of houses present. Each of these
rolled his share of flesh in leaves, and buried it in his favourite
field, placing it in the earth behind his back. In some places
each man carried his portion of flesh to the stream which watered
his fields, and there hung it on a pole. The remains of the
human victim were finally burned and the ashes were either
scattered over the fields, laid as paste over the houses and gran-
aries, or mixed with the new corn to preserve it from insects. [32]

Dr. Westermarck explains this rite as a sacrifice to appease the
wrath of the earth-goddess and holds that, like most human
sacrifices, it was substitutional in character. [33] For my own
part I think Sir James Frazer is quite right in pointing out that
details connected with the treatment of the victim — Meriah as it

266 RELIGIOUS CULT

was called by the Khands — both before and after death, make it
impossible to explain the custom merely as a propitiatory sacri-
fice. His own explanation is that “ to the body of the Meriah
there was ascribed a direct or intrinsic power of making the crops
to grow, quite independent of the indirect efficacy which it
might have as an offering to secure the goodwill of the deity ” ;
and that “ the flesh and ashes of the victim were believed to be
endowed with a magical or physical power of fertilizing the
land [34] I found exactly the same idea underlying Peruvian
human sacrifices. But one need not assume, as Sir James Frazer
does, that the Meriah originally represented “ the Earth-
Goddess or, perhaps, a deity of vegetation [35] The fact is
that a human victim, independent of w^hether it is regarded as
“ divine ” or not, is believed in itself to possess a spiritual or
magical power — a power specially seated in the blood of the
victim — which can be transferred to the object of the sacrificial
act. This I take to have been the real character of the human
sacrifice of the Khands, both when it was offered to their earth-
goddess or tutelary spirit and w^hen it was buried directly in
the fields.

Human sacrifices for crops have, moreover, been found in
North and South America. As a rule they take place at the
sowing of the fields, at harvest time, or at the beginning of the
rainy or the drj* season. Specially interesting in this respect
was the sacrifice of a Sioux girl by the Pawnees in 1837 or 1838,
of which several writers have given accounts. The girl was
fourteen or fifteen years old, and had been kept for six months
and well treated. On the day appointed for the sacrifice she was
shot to death with arrows, whereupon the leader of the rites tore
out her heart and devoured it. While her flesh was still warm,
it was cut in small pieces from the bones, put in little baskets,
and taken to a neighbouring corn-field. There the head chief
took a piece of the flesh from a basket and squeezed a drop of
blood upon the newly-deposited grains of corn. His example
was followed by the rest, till all the seed had been sprinkled
with the blood. The seeds were then covered over with earth.
According to one account, the body of the victim was reduced
to a kind of paste. This was rubbed or sprinkled not only on the
maize, but also on the potatoes, the beans, and other seeds to
fertilize them. By this sacrifice they hoped to obtain plentiful
crops. [36]

SACRIFICE

267

If we prefer to call this peculiar rite a “ sacrifice ”, we must
admit at least that it differed greatly from sacrifices of the common
pattern. First of all, the sacrifice is not said to have been offered
as a propitiation to any god, nor does it appear that the victim
herself was regarded as divine. On the other hand, there is
unmistakable evidence that the body of the victim was attributed
with an intrinsic power which could be directly transmitted to the
seeds. The paste made of the body and then rubbed or sprinkled
on the crops to fertilize them, offers an interesting parallel to
that prepared from the ashes of the Meriah among the Khands,
which was laid over the houses and granaries, or mixed with the
new com.

In South America too, human sacrifices of this kind were by
no means unknown. The magical power ascribed to blood, even
independent of the sacrifice proper, is seen in a practice of the
mountain Indians of Peru recorded by von Tschudi. On the
day of San Antonio, the natives of Acobamba prepared a great
feast. All the men were assembled on the plaza, divided into
two parties, and began to fight fiercely, until some fell down
wounded or dead. The women then rushed forth among the
men, collected the flowing blood, and guarded it carefully. The
object of this barbarous fighting, we are told, was to obtain
human blood. This was interred afterwards in the fields with a
view to securing an abundant crop. [37]

I may remark in this connection that the practice of head-
hunting, as it occurs among a tribe like the savage Jibaros, is
based partly on the same ideas as the offering of human blood
to the fields in the instance just mentioned. After the great
feast the trophy, as we know% is changed into a kind of fetish.
One of the benign virtues ascribed to it is that it will promote
the increase of domestic animals and make the crops grow. [38]
The power of the trophy with which the victor himself is in-
vested, is transferred to the soil and will thus produce an abun-
dant crop. Among others this idea explains why women play
the most important part at the dances and other ceremonies with
which the acquisition of a human head is celebrated. Among
the natives in the interior of Luzon, one of the Philippine
Islands, the same kind of head-hunting is practised as a means
of promoting the fertility of the fields. [39]

In the ancient Inca empire, human sacrifices were practised
in some cases, although they do not seem to have been very

268 RELIGIOUS CULT

common. The most important occasion for them was when
the Inca succeeded to the throne, and numerous children were
sacrificed on his behalf. I have given, elsewhere, a detailed
description of these and other sacrifices of the ancient Peruvians
and of the ideas evidently underlying them. [40] According
to my explanation, they were purely magical in character. The
political constitution of the Inca empire was a so-called theo-
cracy. The Inca was absolute ruler, being regarded as the real
offepring and human representative of the sun-deity himself.
According to the firm conviction of the Peruvians, the welfare
of the whole community was intimately bound up with the
welfare of the Inca, so intimately in fact, that the senility of the
divine king and his final death entailed great danger for his sub-
jects. First of all, therefore, they did all they could to preserve
his strength and prolong his life by sacrifices and prayers.
Human sacrifices were, therefore, also offered when the Inca fell
ill. When the final catastrophe came, the great concern of the
people was that the power of the old Inca might pass to his
successor, the new representative of the sun, without any dis-
turbance in the regular course of nature. This was effected by
means of human sacrifices. That children should be sacrificed
on such occasions may also perhaps be satisfactorily explained
from a magical point of view : the idea seems to have been that
young lives had to be offered for the Inca if his own life was to
be effectively prolonged.

There are other human sacrifices which are essentially rites
of substitution and atonement, but since these are especially
characteristic of the barbarous stage of culture, I shall not deal
with them here. We now come to the other main element of
religion, that is, prayer.

CHAPTER XVI

PRAYER

I N its original form prayer is nothing more than a request
directed to a supernatural being with a view to making him
comply with the wishes of man. As is the case with sacrifice,
prayer aims partly at averting evils caused by spirits or gods,
partly at gaining positive favours. In primitive culture, how-
ever, prayer on the whole has little importance in comparison
with sacrifice or offerings. Uncivilized peoples consider that
the gods, selfish like themselves, are little inclined to grant man
a favour except for a consideration, that is, unless the verbal
address is accompanied by a present. At low stages of culture
prayer has its greatest importance as a magical means of control,
through which a certain amount of pressure can be exerted upon
the will of the gods.

As we have seen, primitive worship is largely prompted by
self-interest. The most important concern of man at the lower
stages of cultural development is to maintain his material
existence. Hence we can understand why the prayers of primitive
peoples invariably refer to material benefits, such as protection
from sickness and misfortune, rain and fertility for the fields,
success in fishing, hunting, and war, numerous children, and so
forth. And since the religion has no relation to the moral ideas
of the worshipper, his state of mind, of course, is likewise a
matter of indifference to the gods.

Just as primitive gods are not all-good and righteous, so they
lack the qualities of omnipresence and omniscience. In speak-
ing of sacrifice, we found that it is considered very important
to seek the god at a place where he can receive the offerings
direct. The same may be said of prayer, as far as it occurs inde-
pendently of sacrifice. The most essential thing is to come into
direct contact with the god. Among Aryan peoples, one meets
with the idea that the heavenly powers can best be addressed
in prayer at times when they appear to be open, so that the
divinities are particularly accessible to the prayers of man.

269

RELIGIOUS CULT

270

The Greeks, when praying to the heavenly powers, used to
extend the hands with the palm upwards, as if wishing, in a
literal sense, to receive something from above. When praying
to the god of the sea, they stretched their hands towards the sea,
w’hile in praying to the powers of the underworld, they either
stamped on the ground in order to attract their attention, or
sat down, [i]

The position and attitude presented in prayer are, in many
ways, of great interest, having partly a social, partly a magical
or religious explanation. Throwing oneself down on the ground
or touching it with the forehead as well as kneeling are attitudes
which express humility and submission. The averting attitude
with hands stretched out has a magical significance and aims at
protecting the praying person against evil influences coming
from the person or god to whom the prayer is addressed. The
swinging of the head, the clapping of hands, springing up, and
other vehement movements during prayer are expressions of
ecstasy. In higher religions such gestures are either the spon-
taneous expression of an inner sentiment, or have a purely sym-
bolic meaning ascribed to them. At a low' stage of culture they
have a practical aim, being the natural manifestation of a simple
and naive conception of godhead.

Still more naive is the idea that supernatural beings can be
influenced not only by prayer in the ordinary sense of the word
but also by praise, flattery, and threats. Knowing from experi-
ence that men can be swayed by such means, the savage natur-
ally makes use of them also in his relation to supematurd beings.
Some of the natives of Sumatra w^orship as a god, among other
things, the crocodile or alligator — naturally a very malignant
and dangerous one. When they have to pass a river where
crocodiles are knowm to live, they try to propitiate “ Jalodeh, the
great god addressing him in the most flattering terms and with
songs of praise, so that he may allow them to pass the river
unharmed. But once safely on the other side, they may possibly
give vent to their real feelings towards the dreaded spirit. [2]

The heathen Lapps, when they approached their fetishes,
called seita^ used to humiliate themselves in the most pitiable
way. Crawling on all fours, and with cap in hand the Lapp
dragged himself along to the idol, addressing the god in humble
words. If he made a promise to offer the fetish a sacrifice in case
of a favourable issue of his appeal, he always strictly kept that

PRAYER

271

promise. But on the other hand, if the god did not keep his
promises, it sometimes happened that the humility of the
Lapp changed to the other extreme. He threatened to with-
draw his usual sacrifices, so that the god himself should suffer,
and to abandon his seita. In some cases he even smashed the
idol to pieces, or ill-treated it in some other way. [3]

Prayer is more important, however, when a magical element
enters into it, that is, when it assumes the character of what I
may call a conjuration. Even in prayer, religion and magic are so
intimately connected, that a definite line of demarcation cannot
be drawn. In many cases it is impossible to decide when a
formula of prayer is purely religious, that is, merely an appeal
to the good-will of the god, and when the words in themselves
are believed to possess a magical power which exerts an irre-
sistible constraint. Nor can one distinguish stages in religious
evolution where prayer is a pure spell, or find a religion to which
real prayer is entirely unknown. The words widi which the
medicine-men address the demons of sickness in order to make
them leave the patient’s body are generally pure conjurations.
But, primitive peoples may also address tutelary spirits or
supreme beings with prayers which apparently have little con-
nection with magic. On the contrary, the magical element was
well marked in the purification ceremonies of early Christianity,
for instance, in its exorcisms and prayer formulae recited
mechanically. Those who accept the theory of a pre-animistic
stage of religious development assert, it is true, that in the evolu-
tion of religion, verbal conjuration preceded prayer, and Dr.
Marett in his work, referred to above, has a chapter entitled
“ From Spell to Prayer ”. [4] But Dr. Marett arrives at this
conclusion by a deductive rather than by an inductive method
of reasoning. In many cases it can be shown that the course
of evolution has been the very reverse, namely, that genuine
prayers have became stereotyped into magical formulae of con-
juration. The transition from prayer to spell often takes place
quite unconsciously. Words serve to communicate wishes,
"rhey may, however, especially if pronounced with a certain
emphasis or repeated frequently, work more or less suggestively,
even exert a hypnotic influence, according to the stren^ of the
will behind them. The magical efficacy of “ words of power ”,
and especially of the curse, is due to this fact.

On the whole, however, conjurations are given preference in

RELIGIOUS CULT

27a

primitive cultures, and prayer in the higher religions. Formulae
of conjuration, originally perhaps pure prayers, are met with
both among uncivilized peoples of our own days, and among
peoples of archaic culture such as the Indians, the Romans, the
Babylonians, and the Egyptians. Certain prayers are used on
much the same occasions or for much the same purposes. In
this way they always assume much the same form. They may
be handed down from one generation to another. The form of
the prayer must always be the same; it cannot be changed.
When in the course of time the language changes these forms
may ultimately become unintelligible, at least to the great mass
of the people. In this way they gradually change into stereo-
typed formulae to which a supernatural power, inherent in the
words themselves, is ascribed, and which are supposed to work
irresistibly on the gods. Their efficacy is usually dependent on
their correct recitation in the very form in which they have been
taught and handed down. A single wrong word, even a wrong
accentuation, is likely to render a formula ineffective. To
return to the question of the magical power of the word and the
name. As already seen, the medicine-men in their conjurations
invoke all those demons who are suspected to have caused the
evil. As with these lesser spiritual beings, so with the names of
the gods. To know the name is to enable the speaker to invoke
the god and master him. Hence the gods generally try to keep
their names secret, their worshippers being forbidden to men-
tion them. The consequence is that, in a low or barbarous
culture, nicknames are used for many gods.

A striking instance is the concealment of the name of the
tutelary deity of Rome. Plutarch, in his Roman Questions^ asks
how it comes about that it is expressly forbidden at Rome either
to name or to ask questions about the tutelary god in whose
hands lie the safety and preservation of the city, even so much as
to inquire whether the said deity is male or female ? He answers
himself, that it is due to superstitious fear and continues that
“ there are certain evocations and enchanting of the gods by
spells and charms, through the power whereof they are of
opinion that they might be able to call forth and draw
away the tutelar gods of their enemies, and to cause them to
come and dwell with them. Therefore the Romans be afraid
lest they do as much for them. ... So the Romans thought
that to be altogether unknown and not once named was the

PRAYER

273

best means, and surest way to keep in with their tutelar
god.” [5].

According to Macrobius, this deity was Ops Consivia [6],
the god of sowing, who would naturaUy be revered by an agri-
cultural people.

We know, however, that the Romans chose this method by
preference when dealing with the tutelary gods of other peoples.
When laying siege to a town, the first step was for the priests
to address the guardian deity of the town in a set form of prayer
or incantation, inviting him to abandon the beleaguered city and
come over to the Romans, who would offer him the same or a
greater place in the Roman pantheon. This ceremony was
called evocatio deorum, and for safety’s sake the phrase was
added; sive deus, sive dea, “ Whether you be a god or a god-
dess.” [7] If the tutelary god of the town had, by fair means or
foul, been compelled to leave it, that town was eo ipso delivered
up to the enemy.

The idea that the efficacy of prayer is enhanced by the solemn
pronunciation of the god’s name is found also in Greek re-
ligion. In the Greek liturgies one notes the anxious care with
which particular qualifying epithets were selected and attached
to the personal name of the divinity, in order to make clear the
precise operation of divine favour which the prayer aimed at
evoking. This may explain why so many divinities were in-
voked under the epithet polyonyme, “ thou god of many names ”,
all possible titles being summed up in one word. In Aeschylos’
Agamemnon the chorus exclaims: “ Zeus, whoever the god is,
if this name of Zeus is dear to him, by this name I now appeal
to him.” [8] Similarly the importance of the name of the god
is alluded to by Plato, when in his Cratylus he says : “ It is our
custom in our prayers to call the gods by whatsoever name they
most rejoice to be called by.” [9] Again, in the Vedic religion
Agni is a “ god with many names.” “ Agni, many are the names
of thee the Immortal one and further: “ The father adoring
gives many names to thee, oh Agni, if thou shouldest take
pleasure therein.” [to]

An equally great importance is attached to the name of the
god in Semitic religions. That stem commandment, “ Thou
shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the
Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain ”
may refer to the dangers connected with the pronouncing of the

RELIGIOUS CULT

274

holy name of the god. Instead of the holy name of Jahwe or
Jehovah, the Israelites used names like Adonai or Elohim, or the
god is anonymous, “ the name ” being the phrase adopted, [ii]
In ancient Chaldean religion magic in different forms played an
important part, but no magical words of power were equal in
efficacy to the names of the gods. To these names, everything
in the heaven, on the earth, and under the earth had to submit.

It is interesting to note the extent to which similar magical
ideas prevailed in the early Christian Church, especially in
connection with the exorcism of evil spirits which formed so
essential a part of its ritual. The supernatural efficacy of
the exorcism was clearly due, moreover, to the magical power
of the sacred name. Of all ecclesiastical writers, Origen is
the one who expresses most plainly the view which reveals the
intimate connection between the magic of heathenism and that
of Christianity. In his polemical tract directed against Celsus,
this Christian Father finds, among other things, an opportunity
to examine the nature of both heathen and Christian magic.
In doing so, he develops a true “ philosophy of names.’’ He
asks whether names exist physei or thesei, i.e. exist “ by nature ”
or “ depend on an arbitrary arrangement ”, and expresses agree-
ment with the former opinion. According to him, what is
called magic is not an altogether unknown quantity but, as those
skilled in it prove, a consistent system.

Among the Hebrews, for example, the names Sebaoth and
Adonai and the others treated with so much reverence are not
applicable to ordinary created things but belong to a secret
theology referring to the Framer of all things. When these
names are pronounced with that attendant train of circum-
stances appropriate to their nature, they possess great power,
otherwise not. A similar philosophy of names, Origen con-
tinues, applies also to Jesus. His name has already been seen,
in an unmistakable manner, to have expelled myriads of evil
spirits from the souls and bodies of men. So great is the power
it exerted on those from whom the spirits were driven out that
there are instances even of wicked men being able to work
miracles by merely pronouncing it. Origen adds that in-
cantations of this kind can accomplish what the spell professes
to do only when they are uttered in the right language ; when
translated into another tongue they are liable to become in-
effective and feeble. Therefore, even unto death, the Christians

PRAYER

275

struggle to avoid calling God by the name Zeus or a name from
any other tongue. [12]

In addition to this primitive belief in the extraordinary power
of magical incantations to expel evil spirits, there existed in early
Christianity an equally remarkable belief in the magical efficacy
of prayer itself. Just as, in baptism for instance, it was consid-
ered possible to exorcise evil spirits “ in the name of Jesus”,
so formulae of prayer in general seem to have been credited
with a mysterious potency which exerted an irresistible influence
upon God himself and put heavenly powers in motion. [13]
Thus, when some Christian Fathers emphasize the importance
of repeating the Lord’s Prayer many times, its efficacy being
thereby enhanced, one cannot help explaining this as remin-
iscent of pagan magical ideas hardly compatible with the lofty
monotheism of Christianity.

Other kinds of prayer, such as a thanksgiving, penitential
prayers, etc., have no place here. Although both prayers and
oflerings of thanksgiving are said to exist among some savage
tribes [14], they are essentially unknown to primitive culture.
Where they occur they must undoubtedly be attributed to the
results of missionary teaching.

CHAPTER XVII

FUNERAL AND MOURNING CUSTOMS. THE CULT OF
THE DEAD

I N the last chapter of my book I propose to deal with that
important category of primitive religious customs which
includes funeral and mourning rites and ceremonies. These,
in their turn, are closely connected with the worship of the dead,
and especially of ancestors.

Clearly the difference in burial customs among primitive
peoples is largely due to their different beliefs as to the fate of
the soul in the after-life, a question with which I cannot deal in
detail in this work. It is not necessary to emphasize the great
importance of such customs from the point of view of the
history of religion. By studying the various forms of burial and
the objects found in old graves, we have obtained information
about the religious beliefs of many ancient peoples whose in-
tellectual culture would otherwise have remained entirely un-
knoi^Ti. On the other hand, it must be borne in mind that a
given practice does not in itself give sure knowledge as to the
ideas which originally underlay it. The archaelogical grave-
finds, therefore, cannot be of real value for the history of religion
until they are supplemented by the facts supplied by ethnology
with regard to the religious beliefs of primitive peoples living
to-day.

The earliest idea of a future life seems to have been that the
soul, detached from the body, continued to exist in the neigh-
bourhood of the dead body or in the grave, where the deceased
found his last resting-place. We know of no tribe, however
primitive, to whom this idea is not familiar. Even among more
highly developed peoples who have elaborate dogmas con-
cerning a realm of the dead, traces of this primitive notion are
still to be found. The idea of a Hades, where all the dead arc
assembled, is also very common among peoples somewhat more
advanced in culture, and tends to appear as the social and re-
ligous life develops.

276

FUNERAL AND MOURNING CUSTOMS 277

In certain respects burial customs can be taken as a measure
of value for the culture of a people. The more highly developed
the people, the more attention they usually devoted both to the
care of graves and to the preparation of the dead for burial.
Customs such as those of the ancient £g3rptians bear witness
to a high civilization and correspond to their highly developed
eschatological theories. On the other hand, there are people
living almost in a state of nature who have nothing one can term
burid practices. Fear of the dead, so deeply rooted in such
people, causes them to flee from the corpse as soon as possible,
for the dead are taboo, t.e. are possessed by the spirit of
the dead.

It is related of the Sirionos — a primitive people in the interior
of Bolivia, who have no fixed dwellings but wander about in
the primeval forests — ^that they do not bury their dead at all, but
leave the corpse on the spot where death took place and quickly
desert the neighbourhood. At the most they leave a banana to
feed him on lus long journey. The Bushmen of South Africa
treat their dead in much the same way; they leave the corpse
where it fell, or heap stones over it and then hastily depart.
Doubtless the primitive fishing and hunting peoples of ancient
times had burial practices just as crude as these. As soon as
permanent dwellings became usual it was foimd necessary to
dispose of the dead body in some way.

There are many ways of doing this. Naturally they differ
among different peoples, but in ^e main four types of burial
can be distinguished : (1) burial in the ground ; (2) placing the
corpse on a species of phitform; (3) burning; (4) burial in an
um. It must be emphasized, however, that Ae differences
between these are merely relative. Some of them are often
combined in treating one and the same person. Again, in the
same tribe among some peoples different forms of burial are
found ; the decisive factors are the social position, the manner of
death, and so on. Ideas concerning the abode of the dead and
the manner of reaching it naturally influence burial customs.
Some Polynesians, who imagine that the dead live on another
island in Ae ocean, place the corpse in a canoe which is then
pushed out to sea to help the departed on his journey thither.

In general, it may be said that primitive peoples are not as
conservative in keeping to a single method of burial as has
usually been assumed ; the main consideration is that the corpse

RELIGIOUS CULT

278

should be got rid of as soon as possible, and the dangerous
death infection neutralized. But even among some people who
are slighdy more developed, and in civilized or half-civilized
societies, there arises another thought which is also expressed
in their treatment of the dead, that is the need to make provision
for the well-being of the departed in the other life.

Undoubtedly the simplest way to dispose of a corpse is to
bury it in the earth. This is also the easiest way of getting rid
of the dangerous death-demon, and is the most common method
in the lower as well as the higher cultures, although many types
can be distinguished.

Placing the corpse on a platform is fairly common in some
parts of the world, e.g, in Australia and Polynesia, as well as in
North and South America. Wundt thinks that this custom
arose from the primitive practice of putting the body out in the
open air near the spot where deaA occurred. At first the
corpse was left stretched out on a heap of earth; then later a
platform was erected on which it could rot away, [i] There is
scarcely any ethnological support for this theory, and in any
case it is unjustifiably generalized. The practice of erecting a
platform for the dead may have originated in various ways;
most frequently it is due to a disinclination to put the body in
the earth, because of the difficulty of dismissing the idea that
the dead person may continue his old life in some way.

This thought is found among the Jibaro Indians who practise
the custom; they also bury their dead in the earth. If, for
example, a woman or child dies, the corpse is buried in front of
or even inside the house, but this does not prevent the rest of
the family from continuing to live there. On the other hand, if
the father dies, they are very particular about the disposal of his
corpse, as it is considered most important for him to continue to
inhabit the house where he lived. He may be placed in a sitting
position in the middle of the house, for example, and bound fast
to one of the poles supporting it. He may be bound and left
standing at the entrance to the house, with the door open, so
that it looks as if he were just entering.

The commonest meth<^ seems to be to lay the dead in a
coffin, formed of a hollowed-out tree trunk, and to place it on
a platform, against one of the walls inside the house, with his
weapons, tools, food, etc., beside it. In such cases, the house
is naturally abandoned by his survivors. Later, when one of

FUNERAL AND MOURNING CUSTOMS 279

his wives or children dies, the corpse is placed on the platform
beside the coffin of the husband or father, so that gradually a
family grave is formed. After some time the bodies decay
and the platform and even the house begin to fall to pieces.
The remains are then buried in the usual way in the earth.
In any case the dead are so placed inside the hut that the
illusion of their continuing to live is preserved as long as
possible. [2]

It is related of the Winnebagos — members of the great Sioux
and Dakota tribes — that they sometimes bury their dead in a
sitting position. The body is dressed in full ceremonial attire,
and, if a wooden coffin is unobtainable, it is wrapped in bark.
Sometimes the parents place their children on a platform, so as
to have them always in sight. [3] Sometimes the dead are
treated like this in response to a wish expressed when alive.
Often, however, the procedure is followed simply because it
avoids the difficulty of digging in the frozen ground.

The reason for disposing of the dead above ground is prob-
ably the fear of the harm which the earth may cause him and his
spirit; the process of decomposition, too, is more rapid in the
ground, and, as this is just what many people wish to hinder,
they eschew earth-burial. In this way they think it easier to
protect the dead from the evil spirits which cause decay, and to
preserve that part of the body which they are most anxious to
keep, namely the bones.

In this connection may be mentioned the curious burial cus-
toms of the ancient Persians before the days of Zarathustra.
The ancient Medes appear to have exposed their dead on a
mountain or some desolate place. In the Avesta it is ordained
that the corpse shall be placed naked on the roof of a high
building, “ the tower of tranquillity (silence), dakhma, where
it can dry in the air or be devoured by vultures and dogs. As is
well known, this procedure is connected with definite ideas
characteristic of the Avesta religion. The dead body was an
extremely unclean thing, and it was necessary to protect the holy
elements — earth, fire, and water — from contamination. As this
belief excluded both earth-burial and cremation, and it was
equally impossible for the corpse to be left to fight the rivers or
the sea, the method described was conceived. For the same
reason Avesta doctrine condemned the old Persian method of
burning the dead. [4]

a8o RELIGIOUS CULT

As has already been mentioned, many people try to arrange
that their dead continue to a certain extent the life they have
lived upon earth. If they do not allow them to occupy the house
in which they lived, they often erect a little hut over the grave.
These may be of the most diverse kind, from the primitive
dolmens and stone graves customary among the Indo-Europeans
of the Early Stone Age to the enormous pyramids or magnificent
burial chambers hewn in the rocks prepared by the early
Egyptians for their dead rulers. In South America it is often
considered sufficient to erect a crude roof over the grave, resting
on four pillars. The Aimara in Peru made these small huts
of stones placed one upon another; to this day these graves
are called by the name of the spirit imprisoned in them,
chxdpa. [5]

A further development of the Indo-European Stone Age dol-
mens were the great barrows erected in the Bronze Age for dead
chiefs and kings. Even in the Early Stone Age it was customary
to furnish the dead with all kinds of weapons, vessels, tools, and
ornaments; a chief also had his horse buried with him. [6] The
idea that the dead should have his property with him in his
grave — sometimes even living property in the form of his wives
and children — is so familiar from the polytheistic religions that
one need not quote examples here.

In contrast to this, special interest is attached to the way in
which different peoples prepare the dead body to prevent its
decaying. In general, one may say, all such practices originate
in solicitude for the well-being of the departed in the future life.
So that existence shall continue after death, the most important
parts of the body at least must be preserved. According to
primitive belief, each part of the body contains something of the
spirit or the soul, but especially those parts which withstand
decomposition the longest, the skull and the bones. If these
are destroyed, the whole being is annihilated, soul as well as
[7] cannibalism and head-hunting, the custom of

eatii^ the flesh and destroying the bones of a slain enemy, are
explained from this point of view. Annihilation is the most
terrible fate that primitive people can imagine.

In this connection, one may mention that should the Jibaro
Indians, who are of course head-hunters, come across by chance
the body of one of their own tribe from which the head has
been taken by the enemy, they do not take the trouble to give it

FUNERAL AND MOURNING CUSTOMS 281

“ honourable burial at the most they cover it with some
leaves and twigs and then quickly leave tike place. The soul is
no longer in the body, it went with the victor who took the head,
so no longer is there any reason to bother about the remains.
If a man is killed in war, his relatives rescue his body as quickly
as possible, before the enemy has time to cut off his head. [8]
In strong contrast to the barbarous war practices is the loving
preservation of the body of a dead relative, so that he may con-
tinue his life after death and even, perhaps, at some future time
be re-bom into a new earthly existence.

Such considerations are also connected with the careful em-
balming of the bodies of kings and other great persons among
the ancient Egyptians. Similar attempts to preserve the dead
body were made by many other peoples. Among the Incas and
Chibchas of old Peru and Columbia in South .^erica, peoples
at a high stage of civilization, burial customs and preservation
methods are found which recall those of the Egyptians. There,
archaeological excavations have brought to light both burial
articles in extremely good condition and very well-preserved
bodies. The reason for the good state of preservation of the
Peruvian bodies is to be found in the extremely dry climate,
but embalming and other methods of artificial preservation are
also foimd, although as in Egypt, they were oiily practised for
the dead Inca rulers and nobles.

The Inca rulers were even deified, and their mummies placed
among the other great gods in the Temple of the Sun at Cuzco.
As well as rulers, men of high rank had the privilege of being
mummified after death. This was usually done by drying the
body in the cold air on a high mountain. Common people were
buried in graves and their bodies allowed to rot unless pre-
vented by the climate. The embalming was connected with the
belief in a future resurrection or a re-birth of the dead. We
have explicit information that this re-birth was regarded as
possible only if the bodies were well-preserved. [9] The
Chibchas of Columbia embalmed their princes by means of
resin.

The desire to preserve the remains of the dead appears in a
characteristic way in the so-called after-burial, found in South
America, Polynesia and other places. Among Ae Borord on the
Rio Xingu in Brazil, the body is first buried in the forest, near
the river. After some time it is dug up and all the remaining

RELIGIOUS CULT

282

flesh carefully removed; a burial feast is then held, after which
the skeleton is again buried. Those of the dead man’s relatives
who are present cut their skin, and then the bones are carefully
painted ; the lower jaw is taken out, painted red with ochre and
covered with feathers ; the other bones are painted in the same
way. Lastly the basket, in which all the bones are finally placed,
is also painted. When the celebration is concluded — it may last
for weeks — all the remains of the dead are re-buried. [10]
Some tribes have the custom of placing all bones so treated
in a large um which is painted on the outside before being
buried. A similar after-burial is found among the Goajiros on
the peninsula of the same name, [ii]

An extremely curious custom prevails among the Motilon
Indians in Columbia. The dead man is buried in a hut and
merely covered with straw, lying there until scarcely anything
remains, during which time he is provided with food and drink
and has the weapons placed beside him. The remains are then
wrapped up together and a feast arranged, where the nearest
male relative dances with the packet on his back. After that the
packet is kept in the hut but without any food, and from time to
time someone walks or dances carrjfing it. It is kept for a
long time in the hut, but finally is carried with shrieks and
the shooting of arrows to a special spot where the dead are
laid under a projecting rock so that the rain shall not fall on
them. Here we see a real cult of the dead, based mainly upon
the principle that the bones of the dead person, which still
contain his spirit, must be preserved. [12]

At one time the Maori of New Zealand had a “ bone-scraping
ceremony ” which reminds one, in many respects, of the
Indians of Brazil. About one year after the death, the relatives
gathered from far and near. When the chiefs arrived at the
spot or canoe where the body lay they touched it with a twig,
after which the remains were carried to a decorated place, and
laid on a bed of leaves with every remaining piece of flesh
carefully scraped away. A priestess took the skull on her
knee and songs were sung. All were now taboo to such a high
degree that they could eat only with the help of long fern-
stalks and drink only by means of the liquid being poured into
the mouth from above. The bones were then painted with red
ochre, the skull decorated with valuable feathers and publicly
exhibited for a time, after which they were re-buried. [13]

FUNERAL AND MOURNING CUSTOMS 283

Primitive peoples, as has already been mentioned, believe
that decomposition is caused by evil spirits attacking the corpse.
Many burial rites aim at protecting it from these invisible
enemies. It is provided with magical amulets such as are used
by the living. In America they used to throw broken pottery
into the grave, sometimes even placing a number of whole
clay vessels in or around it. The breaking of earthen vessels
at a burial has acquired a ceremonial character. [14] In such
cases there is no thought of providing the departed with
vessels — much less with broken ones — for the other life.
These “ sacrificial gifts are, in reality, amulets.

The difficulty of permanently preserving even such parts
of the body as the skull and bones, in conflict with the desire
to keep a material substratum for the soul, has given rise to
another burial practice — the burning of the body. Nowhere,
apparently, was this the original custom; almost everywhere
it was preceded by the custom of earth-burial. This is so,
for example, in India, where burning was a very ancient
practice and even occurs to-day among many Indian races.
The Vedas mention both earth-burial and the burning of the
corpse, but the former practice was the earlier. [15] The
ancient Persians also burned their dead. But they maintained
at the same time what was probably the still older custom of
burying them.

Burning the dead found its way into Europe as early as the
second millenium B.c., but not into the North until the early
bronze age. On the other hand the Jewish race ever3rwhere
kept to earth-burial. If, as it would seem, the dead were burned
in old Babylonian times, the custom was probably inherited
from the older Sumerian culture. Some tribes in North and
South America have also practised the custom of burning ther
dead relatives.

The comparatively sudden appearance of cremation in the
North during the later bronze age can be explained by the
connecting of this practice with a radical change in religious
ideas. To quote M, P:n. Nilsson, it is derived from “the
desire of the survivors to be rid of the dead, their troublesome
claims on the living, and the danger of their malevolence.'’ “ By
this total destruction of the body, they believed they would be
free from ghosts.” By the smoke which rose from the burning,
they presumed that the soul would also be compelled to rise

RELIGIOUS CULT

284

to heaven. [16] But a closer investigation of the way in which
the ashes and bones of a burned corpse were treated, should
have prevented such a complete misconception of the im-
portance of this burial custom. If the ashes are scattered to the
winds, as was done at one time in Germanic and other lands
with ^e burned remains of a criminal, and by the Catholic
Church with those of a heretic burned at the stake, there is
clear evidence of a desire to annihilate the dead, body and
soul. But with the ashes of beloved relatives who have been
burned the procedure is quite otherwise. They are most
carefully preserved in an um or in some other way.

Burning the dead does not in any way imply a change in
religious ideas. The process of thought is precisely the same
as before. It was simply a more practical way introduced, for
example, here in Northern Europe imder foreign influence
of attaining the main object, the preservation of some part of
the body. [17] Not out of consideration for their own safety
did they bum the body, but out of solicitude for the dead
relative’s welfare in the other world. This becomes clear from
a more detailed study of the associated ritual. The Indians,
for example, did not think for a moment that the fire would
consume the whole of the body, in which case the soul would
also be destroyed. This is seen from the fact that they prayed
at the same time to Agni that he would not harm the dead.
Afterwards, when they buried the half-burned bones in the
ground, they prayed that the soil should not press upon him
but shelter him in friendliness. [18] £. Lehmann explains

this by the persistence of ideas associated with the old custom
of earth-burial after the introduction of the new ritual.
But we have no right and no reason to assume such incom-
prehensible inconsistency either among the Indians or any
other people.

Although comparatively usual in North America — e.g,
among ^e so-c^ed North West Indians — cremation is
found among only a few tribes in South America; but the
observations to be made in these cases are characteristic. The
French explorer, Cr^vaux, relates of the Roucouyenne Indians
that when one of them is dying, his relatives and friends show
their friendship by carrying in large quantities of wood to let
him see what they are preparing for his funeral pyre. When
dead, he is dress^ in his finest clothes and ornaments, after

FUNERAL AND MOURNING CUSTOMS 285

which the body is burned. The ashes and what remains
of the bones are preserved in an urn in the widow’s hut. A
year later they are buried in the earth with appropriate cere-
monies. [19] The Guahivos of Venezuela also bum their
dead, then collect the burnt bones, crush them in a mortar and
hide them in his house in a tightly woven basket. When they
move or go on a journey, they take with them the burned bones
of their forefathers. [20] The Tauare in eastern Pern too,
bum their dead and preserve the ashes in tubes. At each
meal some of this horrible seasoning is mixed with the food
and eaten. A similar “ endo-cannibalism ” is practised by
some Brazilian tribes ; the object is said to be to propagate
the soul of the departed by means of the living [21]

These examples should be enough to show clearly that the
burning of a dead person is no act of enmity, but, on the con-
trary, a specially kind deed and act of friendship. As a matter
of fact, this custom is only a radical step in the direction of
the aim towards which many peoples of a higher culture strive,
namely, the protection of the departed from the attacks of
supernatural enemies and the preservation of some part of
his body. Fire is, in fact, an effective means of purification.
It rapidly consumes those parts of the corpse which especially
tend to decay. After this purification something is left which
cannot be annihilated, the ashes. In them the spirit of the
departed is now concentrated; they are the seed from which,
according to the idea of many peoples, a new human existence
will in due time spring.

That is why the ashes are kept after the burning, with such
great care and preserved frequently in beautifully painted urns,
sometimes even in gold urns, as was done by the ancient
Chibchas in South America. The burning of the dead has
thus also a deeply religious significance; it is an act of piety
towards the dead, and is intimately connected with the cult of
the soul proper. [22]

Um-buriai has already been mentioned. As has been seen
it often occurs in connection with after-burial. The custom
was very widely extended among the natives of America; we
find it both in the South and North. In the former hemi-
sphere it was a special characteristic of the Guaranis and
Arawaks.

Two kinds of um-burial can be distinguished. In the one

286

RELIGIOUS CULT

we find very large urns, very seldom painted, in which the
whole of the dead body is placed — even that of an adult. This
is the custom of the numerous Guarani tribes, e.g. the Chiri-
guanos in Bolivia. With the head pressed down between the
knees the body is put in the um and another um placed on
top as a lid. This “ coffin ” is then buried in the earth of the
hut, in which, strangely enough, the survivors continue to
live. The other kind of um-burial consists in laying the
bones or the ashes only in smaller urns, often beautifully
painted ; these are specially characteristic of the Arawaks
living in the north of South America. The earlier Quimbayas
of Columbia sometimes preserved the ashes of their chiefs in
urns of gold, which were placed in deep vaults. [23]

Many curious magical conceptions are linked up with clay
vessels in general, notably with burial urns, but we cannot go
into these here. It may be mentioned, however, that the
custom of putting the dead into urns has obviously sprung
from the desire to protect their remains from the injurious
effects of the damp earth and against the evil spirits who can
bring about a re-birth. How precisely some of the more
highly developed societies have thought out the matter is
apparent from the fact that they place the corpse deliberately
in the urn in the same position as the fcetus had in the mother’s
womb, and that in some cases the um itself is intended to
symbolize the womb. [24] The existence of such conceptions is
confirmed by many facts, among them the idea that the painted
burial urns have a special magical protective power. Their
ornamentation, often extraordinarily beautiful was originally
not in the form of decoration but of magic symbols.

Up till now I have discussed chiefly those burial customs
which are due to feelings of friendship and piety towards the
dead. But, as is well known, practices and rites exist which
originated in fear of the spirit of the dead, who was often
thought to be burning for revenge. We have here, as a matter
of fact, two conceptions apparently diametrically opposed, which
sometimes seem to be combined even in relation to the same
person, and which have therefore presented great difficulty to
scientists.

It seems a curious contradiction that a person who was
loved and esteemed when alive should, after death, often be
feared as a revengeful and dangerous ghost. Historians of

FUNERAL AND MOURNING CUSTOMS 287

religion have attempted to explain, by all kinds of purely
psychological interpretations, this change that takes place in
a person’s character on death. The real solution is only found
by those able to penetrate into the actual process of thought
of the natives in regard to this matter.

Mr. Grubb states of the Lenguas in Paraguay that the
departed souls of men, called aphangak^ appear to take no
interest in the living, nor, beyond causing uncanny feelings
when supposed to be hovering about, do they seem in the
least to influence those left behind. They retain their bodily
and mental characteristics in the shade-land; a man who was
kindly-natured in life remains so after death, and so forth. [25]
Elsewhere he tells us, however, the death-spirits are feared to
such an extent that the patient is abandoned when death seems
imminent, or sometimes frequently buried before he is quite
dead. “ The whole village is left desolate save for a few awe-
struck Indians who have been deputed to carry out the last
dismal rites.” Some of the rites performed before burying the
corpse are very peculiar. One consists, for instance, in placing
hot embers beneath the feet and on the head of the corpse.
If the seat of trouble has been in the head they batter the skull
with clubs, after the body has been placed in the grave; if
in the region of the heart, arrows are shot into it, and sometimes
a stake is driven through the shoulder and out below the ribs,
thus pinning the body to the side of the grave. In the case of
dropsy the body is shot at, and a bunch of herbs held by the
man conducting the burial. This is burnt afterwards and each
of the party swallows some of the smoke. A common rite is
the cutting open of the side and the insertion into the wound
of heated stones, an armadillo’s claw, some dog’s bones, and,
occasionally, red ants. [26]

Mr. Grubb says that he did not understand all these rites,
but obviously they were inspired by superstitious fear. In
fact, they seem to have been directed, not against the ghost of
the dead, the aphangaky as might have been supposed, but
against the evil spirits called kilyikhanuiy to whom the Lenguas
ascribe any fatal disease. The evil spirit is naturally believed
to be present in that part of the body, which is the seat of the
trouble. The rites were no doubt attempts to expel him from
the body. Similiarly other burial and mourning customs of
the Lenguas and of the Chaco Indians in general, the burning

288

RELIGIOUS CULT

of the house and the property of the deceased, the blackening
of the face, the veiling of Ae head, etc., are evidently pre-
cautions against Ae same evil spirits, who are believed to
look for fresh victinrs among Ae survivors.

The same discrimination between Ae soul of Ae deceased
and Ae disease- and deaA-demon must be made in regard to
Ae burial customs of oAer uncivilized peoples, alAough most
ethnologists in describing Aem, have failed to draw attention
to this fact.

Some peoples, the Bantu of Africa and Ae different tribes
of Ae Finno-Ugrian stock, for instance, worship chiefly the
spirits of the dead, especially Ae spirits of ancestors, regarding
them as Aeir gods. These ancestral spirits require to be
praised, flattered and honoured with sacrifices, and, if neglected
may resent and punish the tribe with drought, famine, sickness,
etc. But if duly worshipped, their affection for Aeir surviving
relatives, and friends will endure; Aey often become Ae
guardians and protectors of Aeir descendants. Thus among
Ae Zulu Ae head of each family is worshipped by his children :
remembering his kindness to them while he was living, they
say “ He will still treat us in the same way now he is dead ”. [27]
The Herero invoke the blessings of their deceased friends or
relatives, praying for success against their enemies, an abund-
ance of cattle, numerous wives, and prosperity in their under-
takings. [28] The same may be said of the feelings of the
Finno-Ugrian tribes for Aeir dead ancestors. [29]

But if we study the burial rites of Aese two races, we find
Aat an abject terror or fear is generally shown, not wholly in
conformity with Ae alleged benevolent character of Ae dead
faAer or headman as a guardian spirit of his family or tribe.
For example, we hear of Ae Bantu in South Africa that “ a
native does not care to go near people who arc dying: he flees
in terror. . . . When a headman of importance dies, his
body is never taken out through the door; a special hole is
made in the wall. ... In some tribes when a man is seen to
be in extremis his knees are bent up to his chin, and a net is
Arown over his body. He is covered with skins, which prac-
tically smother him. His body is then hurriedly taken out of
a hole in the side of his hut, and a shallow grave is dug in
haste, and Ae man buried — sometimes before he is actually
dead. So terrified are Ae people at Ae approach of death

FUNERAL AND MOURNING CUSTOMS 289

that undoubtedly they often bury people before they are
dead.” [30]

To understand such apparent contradictions one has to take
into consideration that, in his funeral rites, uncivilized man is
dealing with two kincb of spirits which, theoretically at any
rate, must be distinguished: the soul of the deceased, and the
evil spirit who caused the death of the relative and is also
regarded as a source of danger to the survivors. As we have
seen, fatal disease, according to primitive belief, is caused in
most cases by an evil spirit which penetrated into the body
of the patient. When the patient dies, this spirit remains in
the dead body. But the spirit, having obtained possession of
a person and caused his death, will at the same time seize his
soul and change him into an evil spirit altogether, no matter
what his character in life. In many cases, therefore, there is
practically no difference between the spirit which caused the
death and the spirit of the dead person. [31]

This belief naturally complicates the ideas of primitive
peoples about the spirits of the departed. But it helps one
to understand why persons who when alive were perhaps
honoured and loved, after death are feared as evil spirits trying
to inflict all sorts of harm upon their surviving relatives. The
change is due to the spirit who has invaded the deceased. The
more spiritual power a person had in life, the more, generally,
he is feared after death, because the spirit takes possession of
this power. This is the reason why old people and sorcerers
are usually most feared after death as evil and revengeful beings.
This belief may also explain why death as a rule enhances Ae
power of the departed souls.

To what extent fear of death, i.e. fear of the death-spirit,
dominates uncivilized man appears clearly, for instance, in the
Indians at times when epidemics rage. As one member of the
family or community after the other is carried off by the
invisible but formidable enemies raging in the village, and
against whom the art of the medicine-man is powerless, the
fear of the survivors gradually develops into a state of panic.
Finally, they see no other way of ridding themselves of the
unwelcome guests except by destroying and burning the whole
village and abandoning it, the dead bodies being left unburied
and the sick ones without care. When leaving the place, the
inhabitants usually block up the path along which they go
T

RELIGIOUS CULT

290

with sticks and tree branches “ in order that the disease-spirit
may not be able to follow in their footsteps.” [32]

Many funeral rites and mourning customs must be explained
from this fear of mysterious disease- and death-spirits which
are vaguely identified with the soul of the departed. Many
rites at burial are evidently inspired by the desire to keep the
spirit shut up in the grave. Practices of this kind are so
numerous among peoples at a low level of culture that it is
needless to adduce instances. I mention only that, in an
account given of the funeral customs of the Indians of Guate-
mala, “ the coffin is spun round six times, so that the ghost
shall be unable to find its way back to the world of the living.”
After burial, the Chaco Indians carefully fill up the grave,
placing upon it a great number of big tree branches with
long thorns to prevent the spirit from reappearing. [33] In
the higher cultures, mounds and monumental stones serve
the same purpose in some cases, namely, to prevent the
death-spirit or the soul of the departed from rising from the
grave.

The purification ceremonies with fire, water, etc., by which
many peoples try to purify the house of death and the whole
village from the dangerous taboo attaching to it, have been dealt
with before. The property of the deceased, especially his
clothes and the vessels from which he has eaten or drunk, is
treated in the same way. Practices of this kind have frequently
been misinterpreted by theoretical writers. The burning of
the property of the deceased at the grave, the breaking
of clay vessels, and so on, have been explained as acts by
which these objects are sent to the other world with the
departed for his use. In many cases their purpose is simply
the destruction of objects polluted by the taboo of death.
Consequently such rites must be distinguished from genuine
grave offerings.

An interesting detail in connection with the latter is the
” killing ” of the objects which are laid in the grave ; in the
New World, for instance, it was customary to break clay
vessels and then throw them into the grave, or to bore holes
into them. [34] These customs are also practised in other
parts of the world. The Ostyaks, for instance, are in the
habit of ” marking ” in some way all objects to be deposited
in the grave or coffin: knives and arrow-points are broken, a

FUNERAL AND MOURNING CUSTOMS 291

score is made in the axe with a knife, a hole is bored in the
bottom of the pot, wooden objects are chipped, a piece is cut
off from clothes, the sledge is broken [35], etc. These practices
evidently have some mystic object: in some cases the under-
lying idea may be that the souls of the objects are set free to
follow their owners to the other world. In America, broken
clay pots, thrown into the grave, served in many cases as
amulets to protect the remains of the dead from evil spirits who
were believed to do them harm. [36]

Mourning customs, generally observed for some time after
the burial, can be distinguished from fimeral rites. Their
object, in primitive and barbarous cultures, is nearly always to
protect the survivors against the contagion of death or the spirit
of the deceased. The exaggerated weeping and wailing after
a death, the custom practised by the mourners of blackening
their faces or the whole body, to veil the head, to wear special
tokens of sorrow, to fast, scourge, or mutilate the body in some
way — all these and similar mourning customs have sprung
fundamentally from fear of death, or fear of the spirit of the
dead. Although primitive peoples are no doubt capable of
feeling real sorrow at the death of a near relative, on Ae other
hand it is quite clear that such exaggerated manifestations
cannot be genuine and spontaneous expressions of sorrow and
pain, but have primarily a ceremonial character.

The loud wailing, for instance, is evidently at bottom due to
superstitious fear; its object is simply to frighten away the
spirit, which primitive peoples also try to keep at a distance by
shouting and making as much noise as possible. [37] When
mourners tear their clothes asunder, crawl in the dust, strew
ashes upon their head, cut the hair and the beard, etc., as was
customary for instance among the Israelites, such customs may
be due to different ideas among different peoples, but the chief
motives seem to be the same everywhere. By disfiguring his
appearance the mourner may be trying to make himself un-
recognizable to the spirit; by weeping and wailing, by tearing
his clothes, and crawling in the dust he may be trying to awaken
his compassion and avert his anger. Most mourning customs,
however, are purification ceremonies by which the survivors try
to neutralize the contagion of death and to prevent the male-
volent disease-demon from seeking more victims among the
surviving relatives. This is specially true of the mourning

RELIGIOUS CULT

292

customs called ceremonial mutilations, among which we may
include such practices as hair-cutting, bleeding, lashing, and
the scarification and cutting of limbs.

We hear of some Australian aborigines that they show their
sorrow after the death of a relative by striking their heads with
boomerangs so that the blood flows down over the body of the
dead. [38] The Indians of North-western America and the
Chamias in South America were in the habit of cutting finger-
joints as a token of sorrow on the death of a relative. [39] The
Arawaks of Guiana are famed for the peculiar mourning rite
called maricarrif in which the mourners lash one another with
whips until the blood flows in streams. [40] Such peculiar
rites have sometimes been explained as forms of self-torture,
designed to appease the revengeful spirit of the dead [41], some-
times as a kind of self-sacrifice whereby a part of the worshipper’s
own body is offered as a pars pro toto sacrifice representing the
whole man. [42]

Neither of these explanations however is correct. In sanguin-
ar)" practices such as those just mentioned we have obviously
rites of purificatory significance by which mourners try to rid
themselves from, or protect themselves against, the dangerous
pollution of death. With the flowing blood, impure and harm-
ful spirits are supposed to leave the organism, and lashing is a
means of exorcising them. [43] The custom of shaving the
head as a sign of sorrow is due to similar ideas. The hair is
regarded as the seat of the soul or vital power. When widows
cut their hair after the death of their husband, they rid them-
selves of a critical part of the body through which the dangerous
death-spirit may acquire power over them. The strange prac-
tice of cutting the finger-joints as a sign of sorrow among the
Chamias seems to have been due to the same considerations,
but space forbids me to examine closely here these and other
mourning customs.

The dangerous power of taboo which, according to primitive
belief, Ls attached to the dead body, especially immediately after
death, does not on the other hand prevent it from becoming the
object of a real worship on the part of the survivors. On the
contrary, as has already been pointed out, it is just this taboo of
death which explains the increase of power noticeable in the
human soul after its separation from the body. The souls of
the departed, now released to a free and active existence, are

FUNERAL AND MOURNING CUSTOMS 293

invested with supernatural powers which enable them to help
or harm the survivors, their relation to the latter being essen-
tially dependent on the homage paid to them. The worship
of dead ancestors undoubtedly constitutes the most important
form of primitive religion, being perhaps the one from which
a religious cult in the proper sense of the word has sprung.

REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

1. F. Graebner, Dte Methode der Ethnologie, p. 107. Rivers, “ Survivals

in Sociology,** in Sociological Review, VI, 304.

2. Karsten, Indian Tribes of the Gran Chaco ^ 37.

3. Father W. Schmidt in several numbers of the Antkropos ; for instance :

“ Die moderne Ethnologic ’* (Anthropos, I, 1906) ; “ Die kultur-
historische Methode in der fohnologie ** (Antkropos, VI, 1911);
Die Stellung der Pygmdenvdlker in der Entwickelungsgeschichte des
Menschen, Stuttgart, 1910; “ Kulturkreise und Kulturschichten in
Siidamerika,** in Zeitschrift fur Ethnologic, XIV, 1913.

4. Rivers, “ Sociology and Psychology,** in Sociological Review, IX, 3, 10 sq.

5. Westermarck, History of Human Marriage, I, 6.

6. Westermarck, op, cit., I, 13.

7. This has been strongly emphasized by me in The Civilization of the

South American Indians (Introduction, xxvi. and passim), where
certain important culture elements of the Indians are treated of
according to the comparative method.

CHAPTER I

THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF RELIGION

1 . Frazer, The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings, I, chapter iv.

2. Tylor, Primitive Culture, I, 19.

3. Spencer, Principles of Sociology, I, 384. Ecclesiastical Institutions, 17.

4. Spencer, Principles of Sociology, I, 345, 346, 359.

5. Tylor, op, cit,, I, 385 sq.

CHAPTER II

PSYCHOLOGY OF PRIMITIVE MAN. “ PRK- ANIMISTIC ’* THEORY

1. L^w-Briihl, Fonctions mentales dans les society infdrieures, especially

chapter ii. Idem, Mentalite primitive, passim.

2. Fonctions mentales dans les societds inferieurs, p. 77.

3. von den Steinen, Unter den Naturvdlkern Central -Brasiliens, 511, 512.

4. Darwin, Descent of Man, i., 67.

5. Romanes, Mental Evolution in Animals, 156 sqq.

6. Wundt, Vorlesungen iiber die Menschen- und Tierseele, 268. That all

ideas of physical causality, of change, force, etc., are of psychical
origin, i.e, are derived from man *8 direct consciousness of his ovm
acts as causal agencies, is maintained by Sully (The Human Mtnd,
I, 445). The same opinion is shared by Stout : . . . “ the only
source from which the material for these ideas of force, enforcement,
etc., springs, is in our own mental life ’’ (Analytic Psychology, i., 178 ;
cp. II, 259).

7. Codrington, The Melanesians, 118.

295

REFERENCES

296

8. Holmberg, Gudstrons uppkomstf 7, 8, 9.

9. Sdderblom, Gudstrons uppkomst, 254 sqq,^ 265 sqq.

10. Preuss, Der Ursprung der Religion und Kunst, in Globus, Bd. LXXXVI

and LXXXVII, 1904, 1905.

1 1 . Preuss, Glauben und Mystik im Schatten des hdchsten Wesens, passim,

12. Clodd, Magic in Names and in Other Things, p. 3 (quoting Comford,

From Rehgion to Philosophy),

13. Marett, The Threshold of Religion, Preface, x.

14. See Sdderblom*$ polemics against Durkheim in Gudstrons uppkomst, 22.

15. Marett, op. cit., p. 15.

16. Kidd, The Essential Kafir, p. 1 19.

17. Karsten, The Head-Hunters of Western Amazonas, p. 381.

18. Marett, op. cit., p. 16.

19. Bove, Patagonia, Terra del Fuoco, Mari Australi, i., p. 139. D. Lovisato,

“ Appunti etnografici con accenni geologici sulla Terra del Fuoco,**
in Cosmos, 8. 1884-85, p. 149.

20. Th. Bridges in Bulletin de la Sociiti Anthropologique, Paris, 1884,

p. 181. Hyades, Mission scientifique du Cap Horn, VII, Paris, 1884,
P- 255-

21. Marett, op. cit., p. 28.

22. Karsten, Civilization of the South American Indians, p. 472.

23. Koch-GrQnbcrg, Vom Roroima zum Orinoco, III, pp. 207 sqq.

24. Grubb, An Unknown People in an Unknoum Land, p. 153.

25. Stadling, Shamanismen i norra Asien, p. xi.

26. Holmberg, Die Wassergottheiten der Fimusch-Ugrischen Vdlker, pp.

Ill sqq.

27. Holmberg, Gudstrons uppkomst, p. 75.

28. Holmberg, op. cit., p. 76. Idem, Die Wassergottheiten, pp. 115 sqq.

29. Preuss, Der Ursprung der Religion und Kunst, in Globus, Bd. LXXXVI,

P- 375-

30. von den Steinen, op. cit., pp. 491 sqq.

31. How historians of religion are — ^perhaps unconsciously — influenced by

their own theories in interpreting ethnological facts appears in a
characteristic way from Marett *s and S6dcrblom*8 worlu referred
to above. The ** animadstic ** intei^retation which S6derblom in
his book on the origin of religion gives of the Australian churinga,
having earlier rightly pointed out its intimate connection with the
animism of the natives, will afford a further instance of this tendency.
It is obvious that “ analyses *’ of primitive conceptions founded on
so subjective views carry little weight.

32. Codrington, The Melanesiara, p. 118.

33. Hocart, “ Religion,** Mana, in Man, vol. xiv., 1914, No. 46.

34. Hewitt, Orenda and a Definition of Religion,** in American Anthro-

pologist, New Series, vol. iv., 1902, pp. 38 sq.

35. Still it seems to appear, from the descriptions given by Francis Parkman,

Schoolcraft, the Jesuit Charlevoix, and others, that the manitoo was
a general term including most of the spirits of nature in which the
Algonkins believed. But particularly the mam too was an individual
guardian spirit acquired by fasting and dreaming. Sec Frazer,
Totemism and Exogamy, III, 372 sqq., and the authorities quoted
by him.

36. Krohn, Suomalaisten runqjen uskonto, pp. 65, 66, 74.

37. Westermarck, “ Introductory Note ’* to Karsten, The Civilization of

the South American Indians, p. xi.

REFERENCES

297

38. Aldh was the strongest and keldLah the mildest form of curse which

the Israelites knew. Aldh^ which is mentioned for instance in
Deuteronomy xxi. 22 and 23, in Jesaiah xxiv. 6, and in Jeremiah
xxiii. 10, was so strong that it had a destructive influence upon the
very nature. But both these curses as well as the blessing {Jberakdh)
among the Israelites were conceived as physical forces acting
mech^ically, which had no connection whatever with spirits or
souls.

39. Wcstermarck, Ritual and Belief in Morocco^ I, 556 sq.

40. Karsten, “ Kvarlevor av hednisk folktro bland Finlands svenskar/* in

Hembygden^ No. 4, 1910, p. 51.

41. Karsten, op. cit.^ No. 5, 1910, p. 70.

42. Karsten, cit.. No. 5, p. 69.

43. Nilsson, I^ndtive Religiony p. 19.

44. Wundt, Vdlkerptychologiey Bd. VI. Mythus und Religion^ p. 33.

CHAPTER III

PRIMITIVE CONCEPTION OF THE SOUL

1. Tylor, Primitive Culturey I, p. 387.

2. Wameck, The Living Christ and Dying Heathenismy quoted by Chapman,

** Tinneh Animism,” in The American Anthropologist y 1921, pp.
298 sqq.

3. Kruijt, Het anitnisme in den Indischen Archi^ly pp. 130, 132 and passim.

Nieuwenhuis, EHe Veranlagung der malaiischen Volker des ost-indischen
Archipels {Intern. Archiv fur Ethnographie, Bd. XII (1914), pp.

* ^33

4. Wundt, Elemente der Vdlkerpsychologiey pp. 82, 204 sqq.

5. Nieuwenhuis, Die Wurzeln des Animismus (Intern. Archiv fiir Ethno^

graphiey Bd. XXIV, 1917, pp. 36 sq.

6. Kruijt, op. cit.y passim. Warneck, Die Religion der Batdky p. ii.

Nieuwenhuis, Die Veranlagung der malaiischen Vdlker (op. cit.), p. 13 1.

7. The word nephesh occurs in the Old Testament several hundred times

and evidently was the most primitive notion of the soul among the
ancient Israelites, That the original idea was the one which identifies
the soul with the blood, and that the idea according to which ndphesh
has its seat in the blood was developed later, is most probable. The
word neshdmah again, which is used comparatively seldom in the
Old Testament, evidently represents a still later idea and has reference
to what is now called the ” breath-soul.” My attention has been
called to these distinctions by Mr. I. Schur at Helsingfors, who
has kindly put his manuscript on the animism in the Old Testament
at my disposal.

8. Rohde, PsychCy Seelenkultus und Unsterblichkeitsglaube hei den Griecheny

45 sq.y II, 142.

9. Callaway, Religion of the Amazuluy pp. 91, 126. Cp. Junod, The Life

of a South African Tribe, II, 362.

10. Martius, Beitr^e zur Ethnographie Amerikas, I, p. 705 ; II, p. 310.

Cp. Tylor, JMmitive Culturey I, p. 388. Clodd, Magic in Names,
pp. 27, 32.

1 1 . Karaten, Indian Tribes of the Gran Chaco, 1 89. Idem, The Head-Hunters

of Western Amazonas, p. 372.

12. Frazer, Taboo and the Perils of the Soul, pp. 319 sqq. Clodd, op. cit.,

pp. 224 sqq. Karsten, The Cwilization of the South American Indians,
pp. 204 sq.

REFERENCES

298

13. Kingsley, West African Studies ^ p. 170.

14. Steindorff, ** Die Ka und die GrabBtatuen,*’ in Zeitschrift fitr dgyptische

Sprach- und Altertumskunde, Bd. XLVIII, pp. 152 sqq. Idem,
The Religion of the Ancient Egyptians. Breasted, Development of
Religion astd Thought in Ancient Egypt, pp. 52, 77.

15. Paasonen, ** t}ber die ursprOnglichen Seelenvorstellungen bei den

finnisch-ugnschen Vdlkem und die Benennungen der Seele in ihren
Sprachen,” in Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Aikakauskirja, XXV, 1908,
pp. 2 sqq., Holmberg, Permalaisten uskonto, p. i6 (on the Wotyaks
and the Syijanes). Idem, Die Religion der Tsheremissen, p. 13 sqq.
(on the Tsheremisses).

16. See my The Head-‘Hunters of Western Amazonas, pp. 444 sqq., where

the interesting ideas which the Jibaros entertain about dreams are
related.

17. Karsten, The Civilization of the South American Indians, pp. 32, 249,

note 3.

CHAPTER IV

THE SOUL AND MAGICAL “ POWER ’*

1. See the full account of the “man-god" among primitive peoples

given by Frazer in The Afisgic Art and the Evolution of Kings,
pp. 244 sq., and 374 sq.

2. Haddon, Head-Hunters, Black, White, and Brotvn, passim. Warncck,

The Living Christ and Dying Heathenism, quoted by Chapman in
“ Tinnch Animism " (The American Anthropologist, 1921, p. 298.

3. Mjdbcrg, Huvudjdgamas land Borneo, p 380.

4. Karsten, The Head-Hunters of Western Amazonas, pp. 365 sq., and

passim.

5. Karsten, The Civilization of the South American Indians, p. 407.

6. Clodd, Magic in Names, p. 20.

7. 'Fhe most detailed general account of the notion of taboo in the louer

religions is probably the one given by J. G. Frazer in Taboo and
the Perils of the Soul. As to accounts limited to certain parts of the
world, I only mentioned those given by Spencer and Gillen with
special reference to the Australians, by Junod with reference to the
i^uth African Bantu (in The Life of a South African Trtbt), and
by myself with reference to the South American Indians (in The
Civilization of the South American Indians, chapter xv., “ The
Conception of Taboo ").

8. 2 Sam. vi. 6 and 7.

9. Karsten, cit., pp. 475 sq.

to. Karsten, Indian Tribes of the Gran Chaco, pp. 192, 196.

1 1 . Karsten, Civilization, pp. 474 saq.

12. Krohn, Suomalaisten runpjen uskonto, pp. 42, 66.

13. Kaudem, Pd Madagaskar, pp. 275 sq.

14. Kaudem, op. cit., p. 276.

15. See for instance James Teit, The IJllooet Indians, p. 290. Boas, “ Secret

Societies of the Kwakiutl," in Sixth Report of the Committee on
the North-Western Tribes of Canada (Report of the British Association),
PP* 435 *9* Karsten, op. cit., pp. 14, 216, 429.

16. Kaiaten, cit., pp. 226, 429.

17. Howitt, The Native Tribes of South-East Australia, pp. 128, 368.

Strehlow, Die Aranda- und Loritja-Stdmme in Zentral-Australien,

P 78*

REFERENCES

299

18. Strehlow, op, cit,^ pp. 76, 78, etc.

19. Sdderblom, Gudstrom uppkomst, pp. 42, 48, etc.

20. S 5 derbiom, “ Mysterieceremonier och deras ursprung,” in Ymer,

1906, pp. 202 sq,

21. Karsten, Civilization, p. 481.

22. Strehlow, op, cit., p. 78.

23. Sdderblom, Gudstrons uppkomst, p. 39.

24. Kidd, The Essential Kafir, pp. 111, 144.

25. Arriaga, Extirpacion de la idolatria del Peru, pp. 25 sq.

26. Skeat, Malay Magic, pp. 49 sq.

CHAPTER V

THE WORSHIP OF ANIMALS

1. Marett, The Threshold of Religion, p. 23.

2. Westcrmarck, The Origin and Devel^ment of Moral Ideas, II, p. 596.

Gastrin, NorcUska resor och fotskningar. III, p. 192.

3. Frazer, Totemism and Exogamy, I, passim.

4. Loindtman, The Kiwai Papuans of British Netv Guinea, p. 441. Frazer,

Spirits of the Com and of the Wild, p. 295.

5. Frazer, op. cit., II, pp. 290 sq. Skeat, Malay Magic, p. 52.

6. Hose, “ The Natives of Borneo,** in Journal of the Anthropological

Institute, XXIII (1894), p. 165. Nieuwenhuis, In Central Borneo,
I, p. 148.

7. Nieuwenhuis, Die Wurzeln des Animismus, p. 39.

8. Helderman, “ De tijger en het bijgeloof der Bataks,” in Tijdschrift

voor Indische TaaU en Volkenkunde, XXXIV (1891), pp. 170-175.

9. Kidd, The Essential Kafir, pp. 85, 86, 87. Cp. Junod, The Life of a

South African Tribe, II, pp. 333 sqq.

10. Livingstone, Missionary Travels and Researches, p. 615.

11. Father Abinal, “ Croyances fabuleuses des Malgaches,’* in Les Missions

Catholiques, XII (1880), pp. 549-551.

12. Halkin, Quelques Peuplades du district de VUeld, p. 102.

13. Ambrosctti, La legenda del yaguarete^aba (£1 Indio tigre),’* in Anales

de la Sociedad sientifica Argentina, Tomo XLI (1896), pp. 321 sqq.

14. Karsten The Civilization of the South American Indians, pp. 267 sqq,

(where the ideas of the South American Indians about the jaguar
are treated of).

15. Karsten, The Head-Hunters of Western Amazonas, pp. 376 sq.

16. Karsten, op. cit., p. 160.

17. Karsten, cit., pp. 377 sq.

18. Karsten, Civilization, pp. 294 sq,

19. Im Thum, Among the Indians of British Guiana, pp. 332 sq.

20. Holmberg, Permcdaisten uskonto, p. 16.

21. Holmberg, Lappo/iiftten uskonto, p. 94.

22. Krohn, “ Lappische Beitrage zur germanischem Mythologie,** in

Finnischugrische Forschungen, 1906, p. 156.

23. Karjalainen, Jugralaisten uskonto, pp. 408 sq,

24. Karjalainen, op. cit., p. 4x4.

25. Karjalainen, op. cit., pp. 394, 395, 399, 41L 4*2.

26. Karsten, Civilization, p. 278.

27. Mooney, Myths of the Cherokee (Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau

of the American Ethnology, I), pp. 281 sqq.

REFERENCES

300

28. Fjellstrdm, Kort berdttelse om lappamas bjdmafdnge. Holmberg,

Lappalaisten uskonto, pp. 43 sqq, Reuterskidld, De nardiska lappamas
religion^ pp. 18 sqq. Sternberg, ** Die Religion der Giljaken,*' in
ArMv fur Religionstoissenschaft, VIII (1905), pp. 260-274. Batchelor,
The Ainu and their Folk-lore^ pp. 485 sqq. Georgi, Besckreibung
oiler Nationen des russischen Reichs, p. 83. See also Frazer, Spirits
of the Com and of the WUd, pp. 180 sqq.

29. Holmberg, Permalaisten uskanto, p. 156.

30. Jochelson, The Koryaks^ pp. 88 sq.

31. Diogenes Laertius, Vitae Philosophofum^ VIII, 1.4 and 36 ; 2. 77.

32. Wh&en, The North-West Amazons, p. 225.

33. Plato, Leges, IX, 873.

34. Pltn., Hist, nat., VIII, 28, 29, 42, 43.

35. Alian, De nat. amm., XII, 40.

36. Alian, op. cit., XII, 40.

37. de Blo<ic, ** Le loup dans let mythologies de la Gr^ce et de Tltalie

anciennes,** in Revue de Vinssnution puhlique en Belgique, tome 20
(1877). PP- ai7 m-

38. Karsten, Studies in Ptimitive Greek Religion, pp. 21 sq.

39. Karsten, op. cit., p. 22.

40. Karsten, op. cit., pp. 22 sq. Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of

Greek Religion, chapter i., “ "rhc Diasia,*’ pp. 326 sqq,

41. Alian, De nat. anim., XII, 34.

42. Karsten, op. cit., 23 sq.

43. Jevons, Introduction to the History of Religion, pp. 125, 126.

44. Jevons, op. cit., p. 12 1,

45. Bandelier, The Islands of Titicaca and Koati, p. 104.

46. Mooney, op. cit., p. 296.

CHAPTER VI

THE WORSHIP OF PLANTS

1. Boas, in Sixth Report of the Comsnittee on the North-Western Tribes of

Canada (Report of the British Association, l^rceds, 1890, p. 580.

2. Mooney, Myths of the Cherokee, p. 421.

3. Boas, in Fifth Report of the Comrrnttee on the North-Western Tribes of

Canada (Report of the British Association), Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
1889, p. 849.

4. Morgan, Lea^e of the Iroquis, pp. 162, 164.

S- Karsten, Civilization, 304 sqq.

6. Preuss, Religion und Mytholof^e der Uitoto, I, p. 38.

7. Koch-GrQnberg, Vom Roroima zum Orinoco, Bd. II. Mythen und

Legenden der Taulipang- und Arekuna-Indianer, pp. 20, 21,

8. Ellis, The Eu>e-speaktng Peoples of the Slave Coast, pp. 49 sqq. Idem,

The Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast, pp. 34 sqq.

9. Johnston, The Uganda Protectorate, II, 832. Cp. Lindblom, The

Akamba, p. 240.

10. Mj6berg, Huvudjdgamas Land, pp. 342 sq. .Skeat, Malay Magic,

pp. 194, 212 sq. Nieuwenhuis, />t> Veranlagung der malaiischen
V6lker,j^ 135.

11. Gason, ** The Dieyeric Tribe,** in Native Tribes of South Australia,

p. 280. Howitt, ** The Dieri and other kindred Tribes of Central
Australia,’* in Journal^ the Anthropolo^cal Institute, XX (1891), p. 89.

12. Gardner, “ Philippine (Tagalog) Superstitions,” in Journal of American

Fo/k-Zure, XIX (1906),?. 191.

REFERENCES

301

13. Holmberg, Permalaisten uskonto^ pp. 97 sqq, Wichmann, Tietoja

Votjaakkien Mytologiasta^ pp. 16 sqq,

14. Holm^rg, op. cit., p. 97.

15. Holmberg, Die Religion der Tsheremissen, p. 57.

16. See Frazer, The Magic Art, II, pp. 7 sqq. Mannhardt, Antike Wald-

und Feldkulte.

17. Evans, “ Mycenaean Tree and Pillar Cult,” in Journal of Hellenic

Studies, 1901, pp. 101-104.

18. Pliny, Historia naturalis, XII, i, 2.

19. Hymn. Horn. Aphrod., 264.

20. Pausanias, Description of Greece, I, 22, 2.

21. Pliny, op. cit., XII, 5.

22. Pliny, op. cit., XVI, 32. Theophrastus, Hist, plant.. Ill, 3, 3.

23. Pliny, op. cit., XVI, 46.

24. Acschylos, Prom., 830. Sophocles, Track., 1169 and Schol. Hesiod.,

Fragm., 134, 8. Cp. Horn., Od., XIV, 327. Soph., Track., 171.
Verg., Georgica, II, 291. Pliny, Hist, nat., XVI, 55.

25. Plut., Theseus, c. 8.

26. Karsten, Studies in Primitive Greek Religion, p. 19.

27. Aeneas Sylvius, Opera, p. 418.

28. Dalton, Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal, p. 186.

29. Schinz, Deutsch-Sudwestafrika, pp. 295 sq.

30. Dalton, op. cit., p. 188.

31. Labat, Voyage du chevalier des Marchais en Guinee, I, 338.

32. Crooke, Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India, II, 102, 106.

33. Mannhardt, Baumkultus, pp, 161, 190 sq. Meyer, Deutsche Sagen,

Sitten und Gebrduche aus Schwaben, p. 397.

34. Mannhardt, Baumkultus, pp. 190 sqq. Idem, Antike Wald- und Feld-

kulte, pp. 212 sqq.

35. Nilsson, /frets folkliga fester, p. 30.

36. Karsten, Civilization of the South American Indians, pp. 427 sqq.

37. Mooney, Myths of the Cherokee, p. 423.

38. von den Steinen, Unter den Naturv 6 lkem Central -Brasiliem, p. 493.

39. Preuss, Religion und Mythologie der Uitoto, p. 132.

40. On these ideas, see more fully my The Head-Hunters of Western Amazonas,

pp. 132 sqq.

41. See Arriaga, Extirpacion de la idolatria del Peru, p. 16. Cp. Villagomez,

Carta pastoral de exortacion e instruccion, fol. 40, § 23. Mannhardt,
Mythologische Forschungen, pp. 343 sq.

42. Nieuwenhuis, Die Wurzeln des Aninnsmus, p. 39. A full account of

the ceremonies observed by the Malays at sowing, planting, and
reaping the rice is given by Skeat in Malay Magic, pp. 221-249.

43. Mannhardt, op. cit. Frazer, Spirits of the Com and of the Wild, vol. i.

44. See for instance Nilsson, Piimitiv Religion, pp. 15, 65, etc., and Idem,

/frets folkliga fester, p. 58. In the former work especially, the author,
led by his ” preanimistic ” bias, gives an erroneous explanation of
several primitive rites of the Indo-Europeans and Teutons, still
surv iving in German countries.

A curious attempt wholly to reason away the Indo-European
fertility demons has recently been made by another Swedish student
of folk-lore. Dr. C. W. v. Sydow, who tries to show that Mannhardt,
in making his statements about these fertility demons, the ” last
sheaf,” etc., had been led astray by ^lor*s theory of animism.
See his article on ” The Mannhardtian theories about the last
sheaf and the fertility demons,” in Folk-Lore, XLV (1934), N, IV,
pp. 291

302 REFERENCES

45. Nilsson, Arets folfd^a fester, p. 57.

46. From a pharmacological point of view, on the other hand, Dr. L.

Lewin has given a very interesting account of both the Polynesian
hava and of several other narcotic drinks of savage peoples. See
his Phantastica, Narcotic and Stimulating Drugs, pp. 215 sqq.

47. Preuss, Uber den Ursprung der Religion und Kunst in Globus, Bd.

LXXXVII (1905), p. 418-

48. Karsten, Indian Tribes of the Gran Chaco, pp. 125 sq.

49. Karsten, Civilization of the South American Indians, pp. 315 sq. Idem,

The Head-Hunters of Western Amazonas, pp. 327 sqq. and passim.

50. Karsten, The Head-Hunters, pp. 441 sqq.

51. Karsten, op. cit., pp. 432, 447, etc.

52. Karsten, op. at., pp. 151 sq., 154, etc.

53. Mjdberg, Huvudjdgarnas land Borneo, p. 468.

54. Koch-GrUnberg, Vom Roroima zum Orinoco, Bd. Ill ; Ethnographic,

pp. 210 sq.

CHAPTER Vn

THE WORSHIP OF INANIMATE NATURE

1. Marett, The Threshold of Religion, pp. 19 sq.

2. Codrington, The Melanesians, p. 118.

3. Karsten, The Head-Hunters of Western Amazonas, pp. 127 sq.

4. Karsten, op. cit., p. 383.

5. Karsten, Civilization of the South American Indians, pp. 363 sq.

6. 1 am indebted to Mr. H. Grdnroos, B.A., at Helsingfors, for information

about the early literature on West African fetishism here quoted.

7. The Strange Adventures of Andretv Battel. Pinkerton, Collection of

Voyages, XVI, p. 333.

8. Marees, Description et recit historical du riche royaume d*or de Gunea, p. 27.

9. Dapper, Beschred)ung von Afrika, p. 494. Dapper was a medical man

who was much interested in history and geography. He did not
travel himself, but he knew well the literature on West Africa.

10. Bosman, Voyage de Guinde, pp. 150, 158. I^yer, Relation de voyesge
du royaume d*Issyny, Cote d'Or, p. 243 : “ Everything good comes
from the fetishes, and they also work everything evil.** Loyer was
a French missionary who lived in West Africa between 1700 and
1703. Cp. also R6mer, Tillforladelig Efterretning om Kysten Guinea,
pp. 2-4. Chapter iii. of Ae book deals with the religion of the
negroes in general. Rdmer was a Danish merchant who lived in
West Africa for many years from 1739.

It. Thus to Miss Kingsley fetishism was identical with the primitive
religion of the negroes in general. Sec West African Studies, p. 113.

12. Haddon, Magic and Fetishism, p. 68.

13. Ellis, The Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast, p. 192.

14. Haddon, op. cit., p. 70.

15. Haddon, op. cit., pp. 72 sq.

16. Haddon, op. cit., pp. 77 sq.

17. Hammar, Etnografiska bidrag av svenska missiondrer i Afrika, pp. 145 sqq.

18. Cobo, Historia del Nuevo Mundo, IV, 36.

19. Molina, Relacion de las fabulns e ritos de los Incas, p. 43. Cp. Karsten,

Civilization of the South American Indians, pp. 399 sq.

20. Holmberg, Lappalaisten uskonto, pp. 29 sqq.

21. Pausanias, Descriptio Graeciee, VII, 22, 4; IX, 38, i ; III, 22, i.

See also Karsten, Studies in Primitive Greek Religion, 10 sq.

REFERENCES

303

22. Pausanias, op. cit., I, 28^ ii. Cp. Karaten, op. cit.^ pp. 8 sq.

23. Aristotle, De r^. Athn.y c. 57. Pausanias, op. cit., I, 28, 10.

24. Karsten, Civilization^ 344 sqq.

25. Kidd, The Essential Kafir, pp. 10, 263 sq.

26. Westermarck, Ritual and Belief in Morocco, pp. 56, 58.

27. Karsten, op. cit., pp. 331 sq.

28. Sahagun, Historia general de las cosas de Nueva EspaHa, pp. 35-37, 159.

29. Holmberg, Lappdlaisten uskonto, p. 23.

30. Karsten, The Head-Hunters of Western Amazonas, pp. 67 sq.

31. Porphyry, De antro nympharum, c. 20. Karsten, Studies in Primitive

Greek Religion, pp. 13 sq.

32. Castr^n, Nordiska resor och forskningar,

33. Holmberg, Die Wassergottheiten der finnisch-ugrischen Vdlker, pp. 267

sq., 271, etc.

34. Holmberg, op. cit., pp. 70, 117, 169, 225.

35. Karsten, Civilization, pp. 349 sq. Idem, “ The Colorado Indians of

Western Ecuador,” in Ymer, 1924, H. 2, 146.

36. Wichmann, Wotjakische Sprachprohen, II, 186. Kreutzwald, Der

Ehsten aberglaubische Gehrduche, p. 6. Wiedemann, Aus dem inneren
und dusseren Leben der Ehsten, p. 318.

37. Kidd, The Essential Kafir, p. 10. Cp. Junod, The Life of a South

African Tribe, II, 324.

38. Karsten, Studies in Primitive Greek Reli^on, p. 29 sqq.

39. See Varro, De lingua latina, V, 83. Dionysius Halicarnassius, II, 73 ;

III, 45. Cp. Preller, Rdmische Mythologie, II, 134.

40. Hesiod, Opera et dies, 737 sqq.

41. Karsten, op. cit., pp. 29 sq.

42. Karsten, Civilization, p. 350.

43. Karsten, op. cit., p. 384.

44. Holmberg, op. cit., p. 187.

45. See the Gospel of St. John, chapter v.

46. Finlands svenska folkdiktmng, VII. Folktro och trolldom, pp. 10, 758 sqq.

47. See Holmberg, op. cit., pp. 191 sqq.

48. Jastrow, The Reli^on of Babylonia and Assyria, pp. 62, 275. King,

Babylonian Religion and Mythology, pp. 16 sqq.

49. Karsten, Studies in Primitive Greek Religion, p. 53.

50. Karsten, Civilization, pp. 358 sqq.

51. Karsten, op. cit., pp. 359, 360, 362.

52. Karsten, op. cit., p. 360.

53. Karsten, Indian Tribes of the Gran Chaco, p. 120.

54. Virgil, Aen., I, 52.

55. Horn., II., XXIII, 195 sqq.

56. Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion, pp. 176-178.

57. Herod, VII, 178. Clem. Alex., Strom., VI, 3.

58. Frazer, The Worship of Nature, I, 441 sq.

59. The poetical description in the first book of the Iliad of Apollo raining

his pestiferous arrows upon the Achaian camp (Horn. II., I, 42 sqq.)
is obviously based upon the observed fact that the burning rays of
the sun during the hot season are able to cause pestilence and sudden
death. However, the original identity of the sun-god with Apollo
among the Greeks has been disputed. See Frazer, The Worship
of Nature, I, 487 sqq.

60. Gallardo, Los Onas, 338.

6 1 . Koch-Grtnberg, Vom Roroima zum Orinoco, 1 1 ; Mythen und Legenden der

Taulipang- und Arekuna-Indianer, p. 12. Grubb, An Unknown People
in an Unknown Land, p. 139. Falkner, Description of Patagonia, p. ii 3 .

REFERENCES

304

62. Bandelier, The Islands of Titicaca and Koati^ p. 277. Molina, Relacicn

de las fabulas e ritos de los Incas, p. 27. Cobo, Historia del Nuevo
Mundo, IV, 81.

63. Bandelier, pp. cit,, note 97, p. 150.

64. Seler, “ Viaje arqueologico cn Peru and Bolivia,** in Inca, Revista

trimensal de estudios antropologicos, vol. II, No. 2, 1923, p. 372.

65. See Schefferus, Lapponia, p. 58. Leem, Beskrivelse over Finnmarkens

I^pper, p. 411. Jessen, Af handling om de norske Finners og tappers
hedenske Religion, p. 19.

66. Holmberg, Permalaisten uskonto, pp. 167 sq., 172. Idem, Die Religion der

Tsheremissen, pp. 68 sq.

67. Skeat, Malay Magic, p. 53,

68. Holmberg, op. cit., pp. 82, 87.

69. See Finlands svenska folkdiktning, VII. Folktro och trolldom, pp. 285 sq. ;

XVI, p. 332 sqq . ; XVII, 353 sqq., etc. The Finns called these
local spirits, inhabiting not only dwelling-houses and other objects
made by human hand, but also mountains, lakes, rivers, etc., haltia,
a word that exactly answers to the Swedish rddaren or tomten. Sec
Lencqvist, De superstitione veterum fennorum (Porthan, Opera
selecta, IV, 76. As to the animistic origin of these beings, sec
Holmberg, Wassergottheiten, p. 225 and passim.

70. Bandelier, op. cit., p. 95.

71. Cushing, A Study of Pueblo Pottery (Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau

of Ethnology), pp. 510

72. Karsten, Hecui-Hunters of Western Amazonas, p. 446. Sec also Idem,

Civilization, pp. 244 sqq.

CHAPTER VIII

TOimflSM

1. Haruzin, “ The Bear and the Totcmistic Origin of Bear-worship among

the Ostiaks and the Vogules ** (Ethnogr. Obrozr., 1898). Karjalaincn,
Jugralaisten uskonto, pp. 409 sq.

2. Donncr, Sibirien, pp. 235 sq.

3. Kaijalainen, op. cit., pp. 41 1 sq., 414.

4. v. Strahlenberg, Der Sord- und Ostliche Theil von Europa und Asia,

p- 378.

5. Sec the authorities quoted by Holmberg, The Shaman Costume and its

Significance, pp. 25 sq.

6. Khangalov, quoted by Holmberg, op. cit., p. 26.

7. Sternberg, Sbornik Muz. Antrop. i Ethnog. pri akad. Nauk. Ill, 167.

8. Agapitov and Khangalov, quoted by Holmberg, op. cit., p. 26.

9. Holmberg, op. cit., pp. 26 sq.

10. Holmberg, loc. cit.

11. Potanin, Otcherki, II. 161-162, 164-165.

12. von den .Steincn, Unter den Naturvdlkern Centra-Brasiliens, pp. 491-493.

13. Martius, Beitrdge zur Ethnographic Siidamerikas. i., 303,

14. Spix and Martius. Reise in Brasilien, III, 1236.

15. Spix and Martius, op. cit.. Ill, 1208.

16. Gumilla, Histoire naturelle, civile et giographique de rOrInoque, 1 ,

I 74 - 178 -

17. Wallace, Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro, p. 334.

18. Simons, An Exploration of the Goajiro Pefktnsula,” in Proceedings of

the Royal Geographical Society, New Series, VII, 789 sq.

REFERENCES

305

19. Bolinder, Indianer och tre vita, p. 70.

20. Im Thum, Among the Indians of British Guiana, pp. 176 sqq.

21. Im Thum, op. cit., pp. 184 sq.

22. Falkner, A Description of Patagonia, p. 114.

23. Rosales, Historia General del Reymo de Chile, I, 166.

24. Coudreau, La France iqidnooeiale, II, 346.

25. Roth, Animism and Folklore of the Guiana Indians, pp. 145 sq.

26. Roth, op. cit., p. 152.

27. Garcilasso de la Vega, Comentarios reales, bk. I, cc. 10, 18.

28. Frazer, Totendsm and Exogamy, IV, 60 sq,

29. Holmberg, Vber die Vdlker des russischen Amerika (Acta Societatis

Scientiarum Fennicd), pp. 318, 319, 345. Swanton, Social Condition,
Beliefs, and Linguistic Relationship of the Tlingit Indians (Twenty-
Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology), p. 429.

30. Swanton, Contributions to the Ethnology of the Haida, pp. 117 sq.

Petitot, Monographic des Dene-Dindjie, p. 59.

3 1 . See my Civilization of the South American Indians, pp. 422 sqq.

32. See Karsten, op. cit., pp. 424 sq., and the whole chapter on “ Generation

and Conception,” pp. 414 sqq.

33. Spencer and Gillen, Native Tribes of Central Australia, p. 127. Cp.

Northern Tribes of Central Australia, p. 150.

34. Spencer and Gillen, Native Tribes, pp. 123 sqq.

35. Boas in Fifth Report of the Committee on the North-Western Tribes of

Canada, pp. 23-25.

36. Owen Dorsey, ” Omaha Sociology,” in Third Annual Report of the

Bureau of American Ethnology, pp. 229, 233.

37. Frazer, op. cit.. Ill, 104.

CHAPTER IX.

SPIRITS, DEMONS, GHOSTS

1. von den Steinen, Unter den Naturvdlkem Central Brasiliens, p. 349.

2. Fraser, Aborigines of New South Wales, p. 78.

3. Fraser, op. cit., 85.

4. Powdcrmaker, Oceania, I, 363.

5. Ellia, Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast, p. 13.

6. Haywood, Natural and Aboriginal History of East Tennessee, pp. 267 sq,

7. Lichtenstein, quoted by Avebury in Origin of Civilization, p. 281.

8. Karsten, The Head-Hunters of Western Amazonas, pp. 393 sq.

9. Karsten, op. cit., p. 396.

10. Karsten, op. cit., p. 385. Idem, Indian Tribes of the Gran Chaco,
p. 198.

11. Spencer and Gillen, Native Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 548 (note),

53L 537*

12. Landtman, The Kiwai Paupans of British New Guinea, pp. 220, 225,

282, 322.

13. Mjdberg, Huvudjdgamas land Borneo, p. 437. Camerling, Vber Aknen-

kult in Hinterindien, pp. 134, 135, 160, 161. Skeat, Malay Magic,
pp. 322 sqq., 410 sqq., etc.

14. Kidd, The Essential Kafir, pp. 135, 137, 138, 168 sq. Cp. Junod, The

Life of a South African Tribe, II, 473, 504 sqq.

15. Lindblom, The Akamba, p. 269 and note.

U

REFERENCES

306

16. See Fritzner, Lappemes hedemkap og troUdomskunstt and Qvigttad,

Kildeskrifter til den lappiske mythologi^ I, containing the so-called
Nftrd manuscript written by Jol^ Rimdulf, who among other things
gives an interesting drawing of a miniature bow and arrow used by
the Lappish wizards. See also Holmberg, Lappalaisten uskonto,
p. 109.

17. See Karsten, Civilization of the South American Indians^ p. 160.

18. Holmberg, Die Religion der Tsheremisien^ p. 195.

19. See StadJing, Shamanismen i norra Asien, pp. 83, 93, 106, etc. Donner,

Sibirienf p. 229. Bogoras, The Chuckchee^ in Memoirs of the American
Museum of Natural History, XI (1909), 463 sq,

20. Donner, Ethnological Notes ahimt the Yenisey^Ostyak, p. 75.

21. Stadling, op. cit., pp. 99 sq.

22. Donner, op. cit., p. 225.

23. Castrto, Finsk mytolop, pp. 121 sq. Varonen, Vainajainpalvelus

muinaisilla suomalainlla^ pp. 16, 23.

24. Karjalainen, jMgro/atrten uskonto, pp. 49, 50, 51, 57.

25. Plato, in his Phaedros, discusses the nature of madness in detail and

distinguishes two main kinds : one produced by human infirmity,
and &e other called ** divine madness,*’ due to ** divine trans-
formation of the usual conditions '* (Phaedros, p. 265). Cp. also
Plato, Menon, p. 99 ; Ion, p. 534.

26. Hippocrates, De morbo sacro, c. i, p. 324.

27. Aretseus Cappad., De morbo chron., I, 4.

28. Frazer, The Scapegoat, p. 73.

29. Im Thum, The Indians of British Guiana, p. 367.

30. Spix and Martius, Reise in Brasilien, I, 379.

31. See, for instance, Ellis, Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast, pp. 12,

70. Kingsley, West African Studies, p. 159. Idem, Travels in West
Africa, p. 443.

32. Varonen, op. cit., p. 16.

33. Plato, L^es, 800 D.

34. Lysias contra Cines., Fragm. 31. See also Karsten, Studies in Primitive

Greek Religion, p. 90.

35. Livy, XXII, 10. See also Burriss, Taboo, Magic, Spirits, pp. 80, 82,

83.

36. Zeller, Die Philosophie der Griechen, III, 727 sq. Justinus, A^logia

^ma, c. 14 ; Af^logia secunda, c. 5. Origen, Contra Celsum,
VllI, cc. 5i~57- Tertullian, Apologeticum, c. 22.

CHAPTER X

“ SUPREMB BEINGS ** OP PRIMITIVE PEOPLES

X. Andrew Lang, The Making of Religion, Preface to third Edition, p. xiii.

2. This has been suted even by so moderate a critic as the Swedish Arch-

bishop Sdderblom in Gudstrons uppkomst, p. 149. See also Pettazzoni,
** Allwissende hdchste Wcsen bei primitivsten Vblkem, in Archiv
fur Religionsivissenschaft, XXIX, Heft 3/4, passim.

3. Penazzoni, Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni, Vol. VII (1931).

4. Howitt, Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 506.

5. Spencer and Gillen, Northern Tribes of Centr^ Australia, pp. 491 sq.

6. Pettazzoni, VEssere celesti nelle credenze di popoli tnimitivi, 1922. Idem,

Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni, Vol. VII, 1931, p. 6.

7. Pettazzoni, ** Allwissende hdchste Wescn,** op. cit., p. 109, etc.

REFERENCES

307

8. Brown, The Andaman Islanders ^ p. 153.

9. Brown, op, cit.^ p. 157.

10. Pettazzoni, “ AUwissende hdchste Wesen,” op. cit., passim.

11. Sdderblom, op. cit., 166 sq.

12. Sdderblom, qp. cit., p. 167.

13. Spencer and Gillen, op, cit., p. 246.

14. Howitt, op. cit.f p. 538.

15. Howitt \n Journal of the Anthropological Institute ^ XIV, 321.

16. Langloh Parker, Euahlayi Tribe, pp. 8, 9, 79, 89.

17. Howitt, Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 507.

18. Howitt, op. cit., p. 553. Matthews, in Journ. Anthropol. Inst., XXIV.

416 ; XXV, 298.

19. Spencer and Gillen, op. cit., chapter vii,, and p. 495.

20. Wallace, A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and the Rio Negro,

pp. 296 sqq.

21. Waitz, Anthropologic der Naturvdlker, II, 167.

22. Bosnian, Voyage de Guinee, p. 148 : “ Ils n*ont pas cette croyance

imparfaite d’eux-m^mes, ni ils ne Pont pas recue par tradition de
leurs ancetres, mais uniquement par leur frequentation avec les
Europ^ens, qui ont tach^ de Ik a eux imprimer peu a peu.**

23. The History and Description of Africa, written by a Moor known as Leo

Africanus. Edited by Robert Brown, vol. Ill, 1002.

24. Man, On the Aboriginal Inhabitants of the Andaman Islands, 1883.

25. A. R. Brown, in Folk-Lore, XX pp. 258-271.

26. Schoolcraft, Historical and Statistical Information respecting . . . the

Indian Tribes of the United States, I, 35.

27. Morgan, League of the Iroquois, p. 172.

28. Dorsey, “ A Study of Siouan Cults,” in Annual Rep. of Bur. Etknol.,

XI (1894), 365 sq., 366. Cp. M‘Gee, ” The Siouan Indians,” in
Annual Rep. of Bur. Ethnol., XV (1897), 181 sqq.

29. Preuss, Religion und Mythologie der Uitoto, p. 29.

30. Karsten, Civilization of the South American Indians, pp. 299, 301 sq.

31. Karsten, The Head-Hunters of Western Amazonas, p. 125 sq. and

passim.

32. See Koppers, Unter Feuerland-Indianern, p. 5 : ” Die inteiessanteste

und bedeutungsTollste Sensation im Bereiche der neuzeitlichen
vergleichenden Reiigionsforschung.”

33. Sec Koppers, Unter Feuerland-Indianern, pp. 2, 5, 18, etc. Gusinde,

” Cuarta expedici6n a la Tierra del Fuego,” in Publicaciones del
Museo de etnologia y antropologia de Chile, Tomo IV, Nums. i y 2,
pp. 26, 27, 33. 35. 42. etc.

34. Alberto M. de Agostini, Zehnjahre im Feuerland, p. 263.

35. Agostini, op. cit., p. 286. It is curious that whereas Father Agostini

mentions the brothers Bridges as the only ones who have witnessed
the ceremonies of the Klocketen, he does not mention Gusinde
at all, although Father Agostini was in Terra del Fuego the last
time in 1922-1923. Agostini’s book on Terra del Fuego is pub-
lished in 1924- Hi sown view in regard to the Supreme &ing
of the Onas — founded on ten years of studies in Terra del Fuego —
Father Agostini expr^ses in these w^ords : ” Die Ona haben keine
eigentliche Religion im Sinne der Verehrung eines hdchsten all-
mftchtigen Wesens ” (p. 291).

36. See Fahrenfort, Het hoogste Wesen der Primitieven, 1927, and Idem,

Wie der Urmonotheismus am Leben erhalten wird, 1930.

37. Pettazzoni, ” AUwissende hdchste Wesen,” op. cit., p. 217.

3o8 references

38. Frequent repetitions of the same things, long expositions of unessential
matters — as if the chief concern of the author had been to write
as voluminous a book as possible — a marked inclination for self-
praise, and uncalled-for attacks against the evolutionary school *'
are not likely to make Father Gusinde's Selknam book or his other
writings on the Fuegians a very grateful reading. Especially the
accounts Father Gusinde gives of his journeys in Terra del Fuego
in Publicaciones del Museo de etnologia y antr apologia, Tomo IV.
Nums. I and 2 are full of polemics against the dilettantism **
and “ arbitrary methods ** of the ** evolutionary school,** which is
contrasted with “ the only really scientific ethnological school,** the
culture-history school.

3g. Bridges, “ Manners and Customs of the Firelanders,** in A Voice for
South America, vol. XI II, 21 x.

40. Koppers, op. cit., pp. 151 sqq.

41. Koppers, op. cit., pp. 150, 169. Fahrenfort, in his pamphlet Wie der

Urmonotheismus am L^ben erhalten tvird, p. 60, points out the radical
contradiction which there is between Gusinde*s account of the
moral qualities of Watauinewa in Koppers’ book Unter Feuerland-
Indianem, p. 169, and in a paper, “ Zur Ethik dcr Feuerlander,”
published in Semaine d' ethnologic religieuse, 1925, p. 163.

42. Pettazzoni, op. cit., pp. 216 sqq.

43. Koppers, op. cit., p. 142.

44. Pettazzoni, op. rit., p. 214.

45. Karsten, The Head-Hunters of Western Amazonas, p. 448.

46. Karsten, Indian Tribes of the Gran Chaco, p. 129.

47. Karsten, Indian Tribes, p. 110.

48. Pettazzoni, ” Monotheismus und Polytheismus,” in Die Religion in

Geschichte und Gegemvart, Bd. IV.

49. Sdderblom, Gudstrons upphomst, p. 175.

50. Preuss, Glauben und Mystik im Schatten des hochsten Wesens, passim.

51. Grieve. History of Kamtschatka, p. 203. Steller, Beschreibung ffon dem

Lande Kamtschatka, p. 253.

52. Karsten, Indian Tribes, pp. no, 206.

CHAPTER XI

THE ORIGIN OF RITUAL, MAGIC AND RELIGION

1. See Jevons, Introduction to the Histojy of Religion, pp. 106, 109, iio,

etc. Marctt, The Threshold of Religion, p. 13.

2. Sec, for instance. Ling Roth, Great Benin, p. 49. Ellis, Tshi-speaking

Peoples of the Gold Coast, p. 26. Idem, Yoruha-speaking Peoples of
the Slave Coast, p. 36. Idem, Ewe-speaking Peoples of the Slave
Coast, p. 33. Kingsley, Travels in West Africa, pp. 505 sq.

3. Sec above, p. 133.

4. Oldfield, Aborigines of Australia, II, 229.

5. Wcstcrmarck, Origin and Development of Moral Ideas, II, 584.

6. Landtman, Origin of Priesthood, passim.

7. Karjalaincn, uskonto, pp. 571, 572, 573.

8. See Buch, ‘*Dic Wotjlkcn,** Acta Soc., Scient., Fenn, XII, 590-592.

Pervuhin, Jeskisi predanii y buita inarodtsev Glasovskavo uyesda,
II, 10-19. Bogaevskij, Otcherk buita Sarapulskihe Votyakov, IV,
1 22-131. Even J. Krohn, in Suomen suvun pakanallinen jumalan-
palvelus, pp. 99, lox, points out that among the Votyaks the sorcerer
(tuno) originally did not perform the sacrifices.

REFERENCES 309

9. See Znunenskij, Gornie Tcherem^, pp. 57-61, 66-71. Filimonov,
O religii nekretchennyih Tcherendss y Votyakov (jSjatsk, Gub. Bjedom,)^
1869, No. 25. See also Krohn, op. cit., pp. 104 sqq., where tiie clear
distinction between the muzhan and the priest, kart, is pointed out.
The sacrificial priest, kart, among the Tsheremisses is of later origin
and is a culture-loan from the Tartars.

10. Qvigstad, Kildeskrifter, p. 39. Jessen, De norske Finners och iMppers

Hedenske Religion, p. 50.

11. Stadling, Shamanitmen i norra Asien, pp. 93 sqq.

12. Lindblom, The Akamba, p. 257.

13. In the Books of Samuel and those of the Kings there are indications

as to the existence of real prophet schools in which young men,
under the guidance of some old prophet, developed their natural
aptitude for this profession. See, for instance, the first Book of
Samuel x. 5-6 and 10-12, Cp. also the first of Kings i. 22.

14. Karsten, Studies in Primitive Greek Religion, p. 83. Stengel, Die

griecfdchischen Kultusaltertiimer, pp. 30 sqq.

CHAPTER XII

COMMUNION WITH THF. SPIRIT WORI-D

1. See more fully on this subject my Civilization of the South American

Indians, pp. 172 sq. and passim.

2. Karsten, op. cit., pp. 114 sq., 172, etc.

3. Karsten, Indian Tribes of the Gran Chaco, pp. 127 sqq.

4. Catlin, Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians,

h 35-37.

5. Sternberg, Divine Election in Primitive Religion (Congres international

des Americanistes), XXI Session, Gdteborg, 1925, pp. 472 sqq.

6. Sternberg, op. cit., p. 474.

7. See Bogoras, The Chuckchee, p. 42.

8. Haddon, Magic and Fetishism, p. 53.

9. That for instance among the Finno-Ugrian peoples the earliest priest

was the family father himself, is quite evident. From the family
cult the official cult of the community had been developed among
them.

10. Oldenberg, Religion des Veda, pp, 394 sqq.

1 1 . Lehmann, Zarathustra, p. 229.

12. Erman, Agypten und altdgyptisches Leben, pp. 394 sq., 377 sqq.

13. Jastrow, Religion of Babylonia and Ass^^, pp. 656 sqq.

14. See my Head-Hunters, chapter on “ Divination,*’ p. 432, and my Indian

Tribes, pp. 146 sqq.

15. Sec my Head-Hunters, chapter on “ Divination.** A most interesting

study, from a physiological point of view, of these and other similar
narcotics amoi^ the Indians and among other lower races has been
made by Lewin in his book Phantastica. Narcotic and Stimulating
Drugs, 1931.

16. Sahagun, Hisioria general de las cosas de Nueva Espana, Book 10,

chapter 7, § i ; chapter 29, f a. See also Seler, Gesammelte Abhand-
lungen zur amerikamschen Sprach- und Alter thumskunde. III, 359.

17. Georgi, Beschreibung oiler Nationen russischen Reichs, I, 102. Donner,

Sibiiicn, pp. 232 sq. See also Lewin, op. cit., pp. 123 sqq.

18. Lewin, op. cit., p. 161.

REFERENCES

310

19. Pliny, Hist, fiat., XXIV, 102. Hcsych, s.v. “ Sec also

Bastian, Der Mensch in der GesMchte, II, 152.

20. Karaten, Head-Hunters, pp. 228 sq.

21. Karsten, cit., pp. 137 sq,

22. Karsten, Chnlisation, p. 475. Idem, Indian Tribes, pp. 176 sq.

23. On sexual taboos in general, see Crawley, The Mystic Rose, 1, ch. iii.

CHAPTER XIII

THE CONTROL OF SPIRITS BY MAGICAL MEANS

1. See my Cixnlization, pp. 86 sqq., 114 sq,

2. Stadling, Shamamsmen, pp. 74 sq. Holmberg, Tite Shaman Costume

and its Significance, pp. 6 sqq., 9, 13, 14, etc. Donner, Ethnological
Notes, p. 81.

3. This I have myself shown with special reference to the South American

Indians in my Civilization, chapter i. “ Ceremonial Body-painting.”

4. Holmberg, op. cit., p. 32.

5. Holmberg, op. cit., p. 33.

6. Donner, Sihirien, p. 228.

7. Holmberg, op. cit., p, 30. Donner, Ethnological Notes, p. 81.

8. Boas, Secret Societies of the Ktvakiutl Indians (Report of the United

States National Museum for 1895), p. 435. Mooney, Myths of the
Cherokee, p. 421.

9. Koch-Grunberg, Zteei Jahre unter den Indianern, II, 293.

10. See my Civilization, chapter viii., on ” The Origin of Ornamental

Art,” pp. 223 sqq.

11. Reuterskibld, De nordiska lapparnas religion, p. 95. Idem, Kdllskrifter

till lapparnas mytologi, p. 14.

12. Karsten, op. cit., 21 1.

13. Lery, Histoire <fun voyage fait en la terre du Brisil, p. 274.

14. Donner, Sibirien, pp. 238 sq. Stadling, op. cit., pp. 69 sq. Among the

Sibirian tribes the drum is looked upon as a living being, as the
seat of a spirit. Some of them believe that the drum can speak and
regard the drum-sticks as its tongue. Stadling, op. cit., p. 71.

15. See my Civilization, pp. 270 sq., 286. Head-Hunters, pp. 375 sqq.

16. See my Civilization, pp. 18 rg.

17. See my Indian Tribes of the Gran Chaco, pp. 163 sq.

18. Karsten, op. cit., pp. 146 sq.

19. Nilsson, IMmitive Religion, p. 142.

20. Karsten, op. cit., pp. 84 sq.

21. Karsten, op. cit., pp. 169 sq.

22. See my Head-Hunters, p. 431.

23. See, for instance, on South American masks, Koch-GrUnbeig, Zwei

Jahre unter den Indianern, I, 132 sqq., II, 176 sqq.

24. See my Civilization, the chapters on the ” Origin of Ornamental Art.”

25. Catlin, Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Conditions of the North

American Indians, I, 83, 1 27-129.

26. Catlin, op. cit., 1 , 157 sq., 164 sqq.

27. Swanton, Social Condition, Beliefs, and Linguistic Relationship of the

Tlingit Indians (Twenty- Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of American
Ethnology), pp. 435 sqq.

28. See my Indian Tribes, pp. 156, 157, 158, 160, etc.

2Q. Op. cit., p. 161.

3 “

REFERENCES

CHAPTER XIV

PURIFICATION CEREMONIES

1. Sec Famell, Evolution of Religion, pp. 88 sqq.

а. See Stengel, Die GtieckUchen Kthtusaltertiimer, pp. 138 sqq, Rohde,

Psyche, I, 236 sqq, Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek
Religion (1908), pp. 32 sqq, Frazer, The Scapegoat, pp. 152 sqq,

3. Molina, Relacidn de las fabtdas e ritos de los Incas, pp. 35-41. Cobo,

Historia del Nuevo Mundo, IV, 113 sqq,

4. See Frazer, Balder the Beautiful, I, 329, 331 sqq., 341 sqq,

5. Cyprian, Epistola, 58, § 15. See also Heitmiiller, Im Namen Jesu,

pp. 132 sqq. Famell, op. cit., pp. 156 sqq.

б. Cyprian expresses this view in his Epistola, 58, § 2. As to Augustine,

see his De anima et ejus origine, I, c. 9.

7. Herod, ii. 39.

8. Pausanias, Descriptio Greciae, II, 34, 3.

9. Lev. xvii. As to the feast of the day of Israelitic atonement and the

scapegoat, new and interesting points of view have been adduced
by J. Schur in his work, Versdhnungstag und Siindenhock, 1933.

10. See Mommsen, Feste der Stadt Athen im Altertum, pp. 468 sq., 479 sqq.

Nilsson, Grieckische Feste, pp. 105, 111 sqq.

11. Servius, Aen. Ill, 57.

12. See Lehmann, Zaratkustra, II, 71 sq., 181, 200 sqq.

13. King, Babylonian Religion, p. 212.

14. Bolinder, Die Indianer der tropischen Schneegebirge, pp. 139, 140.

15. BoViTidev, Ijca^indianernas kultur,p. z^o. A detailed study of confession

in primitive religion has been made by Pettazzoni in La Confessione
dei Peccati, vol. I (1929).

16. A full account of confession in ancient Peruvian religion, founded on

the statements of ancient Spanish chroniclers, has been given by me
in The Civilization of the South American Indians pp. 491 sqq.

17. Sec my Civilization, pp. 493 sq.

CHAPTER XV

SACRIFICE

1. Gumilla, El Orinoco ilustrado, I, 160.

2. Karsten, Indian Tribes of the Gran Chaco, p. 173.

3. Ministerio de Fomento, Tres relaciones de antigiiedades Peruanas, p. 141.

See also my Civilization, p. 381.

4. Arriaga, Extirpacidn de la idolatria, p. 37. Forbes, The Aymara Indians

of Bolivia and Peru, p. 45.

5. Stengel, Griechische Kidtusaltertiimer, p. 80 sq. Rouse, Greek Votive

Offerings, 102. See also Harrison, Prolegomena, chapter i. “ The
Diasia,*' pp. 326 sqq.

6. This has b^n shown by me with particular reference to the South

American Indians in CixAlization, pp. 244, 245, note 3.

7. Bandelier, The Islands of Titicaca and Koati, p. 95.

8. Holmberg, Gudstrons uppkomst, p. 89.

9. Holmberg, op. cit,, p. 90.

10. Rouse, Greek Votive Offerings, passim.

11. See my Primitive Greek Religion, pp. 42 sq. Granger, The Worship of

the Romans, p. 161.

12. Porphyry, De antro nyn^harum, 20.

13. Krohn, Suomen suvun pakanallinen jumalanpalvelus, pp. 46 sqq.

REFERENCES

312

14. Stengel, op, cit,^ p. 18. Lehmann, Zarathustra^ p. 230. See also

Schrader, Reallexikon der indogermanischen Altertumskundet s.v.,
“ Tempel,” p. 855.

15. Krohn, op. cit.f p. 141.

16. Krohn, op. cit., p. 142.

17. Holmberg, Pernudaisten uskonto, pp. 108 sqq.

18. Oldenberg, Religion des Veda, p. 3141.

19. Stengel, op. cit., pp. 14 sq., iii sq., 115, 118.

20. Westermarck, Ritiud and Belief in Morocco, I, 315-325, 518 sqq.

21. Oldenberg, op. at., pp. 175, 3x4. 319.

22. Frazer, The Dying God, pp. 9 sqq.

23. Oldenberg, op. cit., p. no.

24. Payne, History of the New World, I, 520-523. Preuss, “ Die Feuer-

gutter als Aus^nppunkt zum VerstSndnis der mexikanischen
Religion,*’ in Mitteilungen der anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien,
XXXIII (1903), pp. 157 sq., 163. R6ck, “ Der Sinn der aztekischen
Menschenopfer,” in Vdlkerkunde (1925), Heft 4-6, pp. 86 sqq. Cp.
also Sahagun, Historia general de la scosas de Neuva Espaha, Book VII,
chapter 2.

25. Cobo, Historia del Nuet^o Mundo, IV, 85. For more detail relating to

the worship of springs among the ancient Peruvians and their magical
offerings, see my Chnlization, pp. 383 sqq.

26. Molina, Fabtdas e ritos de los Incas, p. 27. Cobo, op. cit., IV, 63, 81.

See also my Civilization, pp. 397 sqq., where a full account is given
of the sacrifices of the ancient Incas.

27. Cobo, op. cit., IV, 8x.

28. Westermarck, Origin and Development of Moral Ideas, I, chapter xix.

(** Human Sacrifice ”).

29. Acosta, The Natural and Moral History of the Indies, I, 344-349

(Hakluyt Society).

30. Petersen, Om nordboernes gudedyrkelse og gudetro, pp. 91 sq.

31. Frazer, Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild, I, 245 sqq. Our main

authorities on this sacrifice are Campbell, Wild Tribes of Khondistan,
and Maepherson, Memorials of Service in India.

32. Campbell, c^. at., pp. 52-58. Maepherson, op. cit., pp. 1 13-131.

33. Westermarck, op. cit., I, 443.

34. Frazer, op. cit., I, 250.

35. Frazer, loc. cit.

36. James, Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to Rocky Mountains,

II, 80 sq. Schoolcraft, Indian Tribes of the United States, V, 77 sqq.

37. V. Tschudi, Peru, II, 358.

38. See my Head-Hunters, p. 367.

39. Frazer, op. cit,, I, 240, 241.

40. See my Civilization, pp. 410 sq.

CHAPTER XVI

PRAYER

1. Stengel, Die griechischen Kultusaltertumer, pp. 72 sq. v. Lasaulx, Vber

die Gebete der Griechen und Rdmer, 1842.

3. Krohn, Suomen suvun pakanallinen jumalanpalx'elus, p. 169. Holmberg,

Lappalaisten uskonto, pp. 36 sqq.

2. Marsden, History of Sumatra, p. 303.,

4. Marett, The Threshold of Religion, pp. 33 sqq,

5. Plutarch, Roman Questions, 61.

REFERENCES 313

6. See Clodd, Magic in Names, p. 134.

7. Livy, I, 55, 4 ; V, 21, 5.

8. Aeschylos, Agamemnon, 160.

9. Plato, Cratylos, 400 £.

10. Vedic Hymns, Part II, 281, 372.

11. Clodd, op. cit,, p. 141.

12. Origen, Contra Celsum, I, cc. 24, 25. Cp. also Justinus, Dialogus

cum Judeo Tryphone, c. 85. Irenaeus, Adversus haereticos, II, c. 6.
Cp. also Heitmilller, Im Namen Jesu, pp. 132 sqq.

13. von der Goltz, Das Gebet in der dltesten Christenheit, p. 129. Heitmuller,

op. cit., p. 258.

14. Thus Kopper, in Unter Feuerland-Indianern, p. 146 and passim, speaks

of thanksgiving and other higher kinds of prayer among the Jahgans,
but this is exactly one of the evidences to show that the belief in and
cult of the Supreme Being Watauinewa is of Christian origin. The
South American Indians, in their natural state, have not even a
word for “ thanks ” and thanksgiving prayers of the kind mentioned
by Koppers are found nowhere else in South America, not even
among half-civilized Indians.

CHAPTER XVII

FUNERAL AND MOURNING CUSTOMS. THE CULT OF THE DEAD

1. Wundt, Elemente der Vdlkerpsychologie, p. 214.

2. Karsten, The Head-Hunters of Western Amazonas, p. 459.

3. Yarrow, A Further Contribution to the Study of the Mortuary Customs

of the North American Indians (First Report of the Bureau of Ethnology).

4. Lehmann, Zarathustra, II, 184 sq.

5. See Karsten, Civilization, pp. 245, 364, 379.

6. Helm, Altgermanische Reliponsgescfnchte, pp. 139 sq. Almgren, Viking-

atidens gravskick (Nordiska studier tilldgnade A, Noreen, 1904).

7. See Karsten, op. cit., pp. 35 sq.

8. Karsten, Head-Hunters, p. 292.

9. See on this point my Civilization, pp. 35, note 2, and 243 sq.

10. von den Steinen, Unter den Naturvdlkern Central- Brasiliens, pp. 505,

507. 508-

11. Bolinder, Dte Indianer der tropischen Schneegebtrge, p. 238.

12. Bolinder, Indianer och tre vita, p. 90.

13. Tregcar, The Maori Race.

14. See my Chnlization, pp. 242, 244, 246 sq.

15. Oldenberg, Reli^on des Veda, pp. 572 sq.

16. Nilsson, I^mitive Religion, p. 10. E. Rohde (Psyche, I, 31 sq.) has,

I believe, been the first to set forth this theory which, among others, has
been adopted by Wundt. In his Vdlkerpsychologie (IV, i 56) he ex-
plains : “ Zuerst begrub man den Leichen um seine Seele in die Tiefe
zu bannen. . . . Dann suchte man den gleichen Zweck vollkommener
duch die Verbrennung zu erreichen.” K. Helm, in his Altgermanische
Religionsgeschichte, I, 158, gives the same explanation of cremation.

17. The theory set forth by me here as to the ideas underlying cremation —

a theory adduced before in my Swedish work, Inledning till religion-
svetenskapen (“ Introduction to the Science of Religion,** Helsin^ors,
1928) — has recently been confirmed by the researches of the Nor-
wegian folklorist G. Sverdrup, published in a book with the title
Fra Gravskikker till dddstro i nordisk bronsdlder (Oslo, I933)» PP- io7.
114-1 18.

REFERENCES

18. See Caland, DU altindUchen Todten^ und Beitattungsgebrduche^ pp. 59,

174, 189. See also Sverdrup, op. dt., p. 121.

19. Cr^vaux, Voyagtt dam PAnUnque du Sud^ p. 120.

20. Cr^vauz, op, cit,, p. 548.

21. Koch-GrQnberg, Ztoei Jahrt unter den Indtanem, 11 , 152. Wallace,

A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and the Bio Negro, p. 498.

22. See my Civilization, p. 249, and note 3. This cult of the soul, however,

must be dearly distinguished from those rites which have for their
object to keep off the death-demon and who is greatly feared. See
below.

23. See Restrepo Tirado, Los Quimbayas, 1895.

24. See Karsten, op, cit., p. 34.

25. Grubb, An Unknoum PeoNe in an Unknown Land, pp. 120 sq,

26. Grubb, op, cit,, pp. 160 sqq.

27. Callaway, Religious System of Amazulu, Part II. Casalis, The Ba^utos,

pp. a 48 -as 4 .

28. It is needless to mention many instances of this kind in regard to the

Bantu tribes, most of whom worship ancestral spirits as their chief
gods. I only beg to refer to the detailed account Junod gives of
the “ ancestor-go^,*' of the Thongas in South Africa, and whose
ideas may be said to be typical of those of the South African Bantu
tribes in general. These anc^tor-gods have supernatural power,
and they can bless their descendants if properly worshipped, but
they can also curse by bringing untold misfortune if they are
neglected. The Life of a South African Tribe, II, 372 sqq., 386,
387, etc. See also Kidd, The Essential Kafir, pp. 88, 89, 92 sq., etc.

29. See Waronen, Vainajainpalvelus muinaisilla suomalaisilla, pp. 16, 23,

etc.

30. Kidd, op, cit,, p. 247.

31. Sec my Civilization, pp. 477 sq.

32. See my Head-Hunters, p. 397.

33. Karsten, Indian Tribes of the Gran Chaco, p. 194.

34. Karsten, Civilization, pp. 246 sqq.

35. Karjalainen, Jugralaisten uskonto, p. 99.

36. Karitcn, op, dt,, pp. 247 sq,

37* Jimod, dt„ I, 143 sqq, Kidd, op. cit., pp. 250 sq.

30. See Frazer, The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead,
I, r59 sq. Frazer in his work (pp. 154--159) gives many instances
of this kind from Australia, tvhere ceremonial mutilations are very
commonly practised after a death. See also Howitt, Native Tribes
of South-East Australia, pp. 453, 459, 466. Spencer and Gillen,
Native Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 500. 507, 509, 510. Northern
Triba of Central Australia, pp. 516-522.

39. Azara, Voyages dam PAmdique mhidionale, II, 25-27.

40. Brett, Inman Tribes of Guiana, pp. 154-156.

41. Preuss, " Menschen^fer und SelbstverstOmmlung bci der Todten-

trauer in Amerika," in Festschrift fUr Adolf Bastian, pp. 199 sqa.
Koch, Zmir Ammismus der sudamerihanischen Indianer (Intern. Arch,
/. Ethnogr., 1900), pp. 70. 74.

42. Tylor, Primitive Culture, II, 365.

43* Sm my chapter on " Ceremonial Mutilations,** pp. 153 sqq.

LIST OF AUTHORITIES

In this Bibliography I include the most important of the works
which have served as a basis for my statements. The list of ethno-
logical sources, especially, is not complete. Among theoretical
works, 1 believe, the most important contributions to modem
science of primitive religion are mentioned.

Acosta (Jost de), The Natural and Moral History of the Indies. (Hakluyt
Society.) 2 vols. London. 1880.

Acta Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae. Helsingfors.

Aelian, De natura animalium. Varia historia, etc. Ed. by R. Hercher.

Parisiis, 1858.
iEscHYLUS. Tragoediae.

Agostini (Alberto M. de), Zehnjakre im Feuerland. Leipzig, 1924.

Allen (Grant), The Evolution of the Idea of God. London, 1897.

Almoren (O.), “ Vikingatidens gravskick,’* in Nordiska studter tiUdgnade
Adolf Noreen. Stockholm, 1904.

Ambrosetti (Juan), La L^enda del yaguarete-aba (El indio tigre) (Anales
de la Sociedad Cientij^a Argentina^ Tomo XLI, 1896). Buenos Aires.
American Anthropologist {The). Washin^on, New York, Lancaster.

Anales de la Sociedad Cientifica Argentina. Buenos Aires.

Annual Reports of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
Washington.

Annual Reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Washington.
Anthropos. Ed. by P. W. Schmidt. Wien.

Archiv fur Religionsioissenschaft. Leipzig.

Aristotle, O^a omnia. 5 vols. Parisiis, 1848-74.

Arriaga (Jose de), La extirpacidn de la idolatria del Peru. Lima, 1621.
Atharva^Veda, Hymns of the. Transl. by M. Bloomfield. {The Sacred
Books of the Eastt Vol. XLli). Oxford, 1897.

Athenasus, Dipnosophistarum libri qmndecim. Ed. by G. Kaibel. 3 vols.
Lipsiae, 1887-90.

Augustine (Saint), Opera omnia. 16 vols. (Migne, Patrologiae cursus,
vols. XXXII-XLVII). Parisiis. 1845-49.

Avebury (Lord), The Origin of Civilization. London, 1902.

Azara (F^lix de), Voyages dans VAmirique miridionale. 4 vols. Paris,
1809.

Bancroft (H. H.), The Native Races of the Pacific States of North America.
5 vols. New York, 1875-76.

B.andeuer, The Islands of Titicaca and Koati. New York, 1910.
Barino-Gould (S.), The Origin and Development of Religious Belief. 2 vols.
London, 189a.

Bartels (Max), Die Medicin der Naturvdlker. Leipzig, 1893.

Bastian (A.), Der Mensch in der Gesckichte. 3 vols. Leipzig, i860.
Batchelor Uohn), The Ainu and their Folk-lore. London, 1901.

3*5

3i6 list of authorities

Battel (Andrew), The Strange Adventures of Andrew Battel. (Pinkerton,
Collection of Voyages^ XVI.) London, 1814.

Beth (Karl), Religion und Magie hei den Naturvdlkem. Berlin, 1914.

Block (R. de), ** Le loup dans les mythologies de la Gr^ce et de I’ltalie
anciennes,*' in Revue de Vinstruction publique en Belgique ^ tome 20
(1874). Bruxelles.

Blumentritt (Ferd.), “ Der Ahnencultus und die religi 5 sen Anschauungen
der Malaien des Philippinen-Archipels,*’ in Mitteilungen der kais. und
kdnigl. Geographischen Gesellschaft in Wien. Vol. XXV. Wien, 1882.

Boas (Franz), Ftfth Report of the Committee on the North-Western Tribes
of Canada (Report of the British Association). Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
1889.

Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians (Report of the United States

National Museum for 1895.

Boecler (J. W ), Der Ehsten abergldubische Gebrduche, Weisen und Gewohn-
heiten. Ed. by Dr. K. Kreutzwald. St. Petersburg, 1854.

Bogaevskij (P. M,), Otcherk buita Sarapulskihi Votyakov. Moscow, 1888.

Bocoras (Walde.mar), The Chuckchee. The Jesup North Pacific Expedition,
vol. VII. Leyden and New York, 1904-09.

Bolindbr (Gustaf), Ijca-indianernas Kultur. Alingssa, 1918.

Indianer och tre tita. Stockholm, 1921.

Die Indianer der tropischen Schneegebirge . Stuttgart, 1925.

Bosman (Guillaume), Voyage de Guinie. Utrecht, 1705.

Bove (Giacomo), Patagonia. Terra del Fuoco. Mari Australi. Genova, 1883.

Brett (W. H.), The Indian Tribes of Guiana. London, 1868.

Bridges (Thomas), Manners and Customs of the Firelanders (A Voice for
South America, vol. XIII). London, 1866.

Brinton (D. G.), Religions of Fbrimitive Peoples. New York and London,
1899.

Brown (A. R.), “ The Religion of the Andaman Islanders,” in Folk-Lore,
XX (1Q09). l^ndon.

The Andamanese Islanders. Cambridge, 1922.

Buch (Max), Die Wotjaken (Acta Soc. Scient. Fenn., XII). Helsingfors,
1883.

Burriss (E. E.), Taboo, Magic, Smrits. New York, 1931.

Caland (W.), Die altindischen Todten- und Bestattungsgebrduche. Amster-
dam, 1896.

Callaway (Henry), The Religious System of the Amazulu. London,
1868^0.

Cambrling (Elisabeth), Vber Ahnenkult in Hinterindien und auf den grossen
Sunda Inseln. ZOrich, 1928.

Campbell (John), A Personal Narrative of Thirteen Years' Sennee amongst
the Wild Tribes of Khondistan. London, 1864.

Casaus (E.), The Basutos. London, 1861.

Castr^n (M. a.), Nordiska retor och forskningar. 5 vols. Helsingfors,
1852-58.

Catlin (Georg), Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition
of the North American Indians. 2 vols. Ivondon, 1841.

Chapman (J. W.), ** Tinneh Animism.” in The American Anthropologist.
1921.

Clement of Alexandria, Stromata.

Clodd (Edward), Magic in Names and in Other Things. London, 1920.

CoBO (Bernab^), Historia del Nuevo Mundo. 4 vols. Sevilla, 1895.

Codrington (R. H.), The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and
Folk-Lore. Oxford, 1891.

CojAZZi (Antonio), Gli indii delT archipelago Fueghino. Torino, 1911.

LIST OF AUTHORITIES

317

CouDREAU (Henry A.)> La France iquinoxude, z vols. Paris, 1886-87.
Crawley (Ernest), The Mystic Rose. 2 vols. London, 1927.

CrAvaux (Jules), Voyages dans VAmirique du Sud. Paris, 1883.

Crooke (W.), Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern India. 2 vols.
Westminster, 1896.

Cushing (F. H.), A Study of Pueblo Pottery as Illustrative of Zurli Culture
Grototh (Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology). Washing-
ton, 1886.

Cyprian (Saint), Opera omnia. (Migne, Patrologiae cursus, vol. IV.)
Pahsiis, 1844.

Dalton (E. T.), Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal. Calcutta, 1872.

Dapper (Olfert), Beschreibung von Afriha. Amsterdam, 1670.

Darwin (Charles), The Descent of Man. 2 vols. London, 1871.

Donner (Kai), Sibirien. Folk och forntid. Helsingfors, 1933.

Ethnological Notes about the Yenisey-Ostyak. Helsinki, 1933.

Dorman (R. M.), The Origin of Primitive Superstitions. Philadelphia, 1881.
Dorsey (T. O.), A Study of Siouan Cults (Eleventh Rep. of Bur. EthnoL,
vol. XI), 1894.

Ellis (A. B.), The Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast of West Africa.
London, 1887.

The Ewe-speatting Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa. London,

1890.

The Yoruba-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa. Lon-
don, 1894.

Ellis (William), Polynesian Researches. 4 vols. London, 1829.

Erman (Adolf), Die Agyptische Religion. Berlin, 1905.

Evans (E. P.), “ Mycenajan Tree and Pillar Cult,** in Hell. Stud.

London, 1901.

Eyre (E. J.), Journal of Expeditions of Discoi^ery into Central Australia.
2 vols. London, 1845.

F'ahrenfort (J. J.), Wie der Urmonotheismus am Leben erhalten wird.
Haag, 1930.

Falknbr (Thomas), A Description of Patagonia. London, 1774.

Farnell (L. R.), The Evolution of Religion. lx>ndon and New York, 1902.
Filimonov (A. N.), O religii nekretchennih tcheremiss y Votyakov Vyatskoi
gubernii (Byatsk. Gub. Byed. 1868-69).

Finlands st'enska folkdiktningy VII. Folktro och trolldom. Utg. av G.
l.^ndtman.

Fison (L.) and Howitt (A. W.), Kanularoi and Kurnai. Melbourne and
Sydney, 1880.

Folk-Lore. London.

Forbes (David), On the Aymara Indians of Bolivia and Peru (Journal of the
Ethnol. Soc, of I Aindony new ser., vol. II). I^ondon, 1870.

Fraser (John), The Aborigines of New South Wales. Sydney, 1892.

Frazer (J. G.), Totemism and Exogamy. 4 vols. London, 1911.

The Worship of Nature y vol. I. London, 1926.

The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings. 2 vols. London, 1922.

Tcdfoo and the Perils of the Soul. London, 1922.

- - - The Scapegoat. London, 1920.

Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild. 2 vols. London, 1920.

Balder the Beautiful. 2 vols. London, 1919*

The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead. Vol. I.

London, 1925.

Fustel de Coulanoe (N. D.), La Citi antique. Paris, 1864.

Gallardo (Carlos R.), Los Onas. Buenos Aires, 1910.

3i8 list of authorities

Garcilasso OB LA Vbga (£1 Inca), Comentariot rsaUs que tratan del origen de
Ids Incas, Lisboa, 1609.

Georgi (J. G.)» Besckreibung oiler Nationen des rmsischen Reichs, St.
Petersburg, 1776.

Gbrland (Gborg), See Waits and Gerland.

G/o£«tf lUustrierte Zeitschrtft fUr Ldnder^ und Vdlkerkunde, Braunschweig.
Goblet (Eugene) (Count d*AlvieUa), Lectures on the Origin and Growth of
the Conception of God, London, 1892.

Graebnbr (Fritz), Die Methode der Ethnologie, Heidelberg, 1911.

Granger (Frank), The Worship of the Romans, London, 1895.

Grieve (James), The History of Kamtschatka and the Kurilski Islands,
Gloucester, 1764.

Grubb (Barbrooke), An Unknown People in an Unknown Land. London,
1911.

Gumilla (Josi), Historia natural, civil y geograpkica de leu naciones del
Rio Orinoco. 2 vols. Barcelona, 1791.

Haodon (A. C.), Head-Hunters: Black, White, and Brown. London, 1901.

“ The Religion of the Torres Strait Islanders,’* in Anthropological

Esse^s. Presented to E. B. Tylor, Oxford, 1907.

Magic and Fetishism. London, 1906.

Hammar (J.), Babwende VEthno^afiska bidrag av svenska missioneirer i Afrika.

Utgivna av E. Nordenskidld. Stockholm, 1907.

Harrison (J. Helen), Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion. Cam-
bridge, 1903.

Hartland (E. Sidney), The Legend of Perseus, 3 vols. London, 18^-96.
HeitmOller (E.), Im Namen Jesu. Eine sprach- und religions geschuhtHche
Untersuchung zum Neuen Testament. Gdttingen, 1903.

Helm (Karl), Altgermanische Religionsgeschichu, I. Heidel^rg, 1913.
Herodotus, Historiarum libri IX.

Hewitt (J. N. B.), “ Orenda and a Definition of Religion,” in The American
Anthropologist, new series, Vol. IV (1902).

Hocart (A. M.), ” Religion, Mana," in Man, vol. XIV, 1917.

Hogstrom (M. P.), Beskrtfmng 6fver de till Sveriges Krona lydande I^ip-
marker. Stockholm, 1745

Holmberg (H. j.), ” Ethnographische Skizzen Qber die V6lker des russischen
Amerika,” in Acta Soc. Scient. Fenn., vol. IV. Helsingfors, 1856.
Holmberg (Uno), Die Wassergottheiten der finnisch-ugrischen Vdlker.
Helsingfors, 1913.

Gudstrons uppkomst, Stockholm, 1917.

Lappalaisten uskonto. Helsinki, 1915.

Permalaisten uskonto. Helsinki. ..

Die Religion der Tsheremissen. Ubersetzt von A. Bussonius. Porvoo,

1926.

The Shaman Costume and its Significance (Annales Universitatis Fen-

rdcae Aboensis. Series B., Tom I, No. 2). Turku, 1922.

Homer, Carmina.

Howitt (A. W.), The Native Tribes of South-East Australia. London,
1904.

Im T'hurn (E. F.), Among the Indians of British Guiana. London, 1883.
Internationales Archiv fur Ethnographie. Leiden.

Jastrow (Morris), Die Religion Babylomens und Assyriens. 2 vols. Giessen,

1905-

Jbseen (E. S.), Afhandling om de norske Finners og Lappets hedemke religion,
Kjdbenhavn, 1767.

Jevons (F. B.), An Introduction to the History of Religion. London, 1902.

LIST OF AUTHORITIES 319

JOCHELSON (W.), The Koryak, Thejetup North Pacific Expedition, Vol. VL
Leiden and New York, 1908.

Journal of the Anthropolopcal Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, London.

Journal of Hellenic Studies. London.

JuNOD (H. A.), The Life of a South African Tribe, Sec. ed. 2 vola. London,
1927.

Karjalainen (A. 'F.),Ju^alaisten uskonto. Helsinki, 1918.

Karsten (Rafael), Studies in Primitive Greek Religion (Ofversikt av Finska
Vetenskaps-Societetens Fbrhandlingar, XLIX (1906-07). Helsingfors,
1907.

“ Kvarlevor av hednisk folktro bland Finlands svenskar,** in Hem-

hygden, 1910.

The Civilization of the South American Indians with Special Reference

to Magic and Religion, London, 1926.

“ Die Seelenvorstellungen der Naturvolker,** in Zft, f, Vdlker-^

psychologic u. Soziologie, Heft 2, 1931.

Indian Tribes of the Gran Chaco {Societas Scientiarum Fennica, Com^

mentationes Humanarum Litterarum^ IV, 1). Helsingfors, 1932.

The Head Hunters of Western Amazonas. The Life and Culture of the

Jibaro Indians of Eastern Eamdor and Peru (Societas Scientiarum
Fennica. Commentationes Humanarum litterarumy IX). Helsingfors,
1935 -

“ The Colorado Indians of Western Ecuador,** in Yifier, 1924.

Stockholm.

Kaudern (Walter), Pd Madagascar. Stockholm, 1913.

Kidd (Dudley), The Essential Kafir. London, 1904.

King (J. H.), The Supernatural, its Origin, Nature, and Evolution. 2 vols.
London, 1892.

Koch-GrCnberg (Theodor), Zum Aninnsmus der sudamerikanischen Indianer
(Intern. Arch. f. Ethnograph. Bd.XIII. Supplement). Leiden, 1900.

Zweijahre unter den Indianern. 2 vols. Stuttgart, 1908-10.

Vom Roroima zum Orinoco. Bd. II. Mythen und Legenden der

Taulipang- und Arekuna-Indianer. Berlin, 1916.

Vom Roroima zum Orinoco. Bd. II. Ethnographie. Stuttgart, 1923.

Koppers (Wilh.). Unter Feuerland-Indianem. Stuttgart, 1924.

Kingsley (Mary), Travels in West Africa. London, 1897.

West African Studies. London, 1899.

Krbutzwald (Fr. K.). See Boeder.

Krohn (Julius), Suomensuvunpakanallinenjumalanp^velus, Helsinki, 1894.

Krohn (Kaarle), ** Lappische Beitrige zur germanischen Mythologie,** in
Finnisch-ugrische Forsch-ungen. 1906.

Suomalaisten runojen uskonto. Helsinki, 1914.

Landtman (Gunnar), The Origin of Priesthood. Ekenaes, 1905.

The Kiwai Patmans of British New Guinea. London, 1927.

Lang (Andrew), The Makimf of Relijgion. London, 1900.

Lasaulx (Ernst von). Das Gebet bei den Griechen und Rdmem. Wiirzburg,
1842.

Leem (Knud), Beskrivelse over Finnmarkens Lapper. Kdbenhavn, 1767.

Lehmann (E.), Zarathustra. 2 vols. Kdbenhavn, 18^.

Lehmann (Rudolf), Mana. Fine begriffsgeschichtliche Untersuchung attf
ethnologischer Grundlage. Leipzig, 1915.

Lencqvist (Chr. Erik), De superstiHone veterum Fennorum theoretica et
practica. Aboae, 1782.

Leo Africanus, The History and Description of Africa, written by a Moor
known as Leo Africanus. Ed. by Robert Brown. 3 vols. London,
1896.

LIST OF AUTHORITIES

320

Lery (Jean db), Histoire (Tun voyage fait en la tirre du Brisil. La Rochelle,
I 578-

Levy- BrChl (Lucibn), Fonctiom mentales dam les societes infSrieures. Paris»
La Mentalite primitive, Paris, 1921.

Lbwin (Louis), Phantastica. Narcotic and Stimulating Drugs. London,

1931-

Lindblom (G.), The Akamba. Upsala, 1920.

Livingstone (David), Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa.
London, 1857.

Livy (T.), Historiarum libri que sup^sunt. Londini, 1828.

Lovtsato (Domenico), “ Appunti etnografici con accenni geologici sulla
Terra del Fuoco,” in Cosmos, vol. VIII. 1884-85. Torino.

Lo\'ER (Godefroy), Relation de voyage en royaume d'Jssymy, CSte d*Or,
Bays de Guinee en Afrupse. Paris, 1714.

Macpherson (S. C.), Memorials of Sertice in India. London, 1865.
Macrobius, Saturnalia.

Man. A monthly Record of Anthropological Science. London.

Man (E. H.), On the Aboriginal Inhabitants of the Andaman Islands. London,
1883.

Mannhardt (Wilh.), Antike Wald- und Feldkulte. Berlin, 1877.

Baumkultus der Germanen. Berlin, 1875.

Mythologische Forschungen. Strassburg, 1 884,

Marees (Pieter de). Description et recit historical du riche royaume d'or de
Gunea. Amsterdam, 1665.

Marett (R. R.), The Threshold of Religion. London, 1909.

Marsden (W.), History of Sumatra. London, 1811.

Martius (C. F. Ph. von), Beitrdge zur Ethnographic und Sprachenkunde
Americas, zumal Brasiliens. 2 vols. I.«eipzig, 1867.

McGee (W. ].), The Siouan Indiam {Ann. Rep. Bur. of Ethnol., vol. XV).
Washington, 1897.

Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History. New York.
Ministerio de Fomento, Tres relaciones de antiguedades Peruanas. Madrid,
1879.

Mjoberc (Eric), Huvudjagarnas land, Borneo. Stockholm, 1927.

Molina (Christovai. de), Relacion de las fabulas y ritos de los Ingas. Lima,
1916.

Mooney (James), Myths of the Cherokee {Nineteenth Ann. Rep. of the Bur,
EthnoL, vol. XIX, pt. I), Washington, 1900.

Morgan (C. Lloyd), Animal Life and Intelligence. I^ndon, 1890-91.
Morgan (I. H.), League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois. Rochester,
1851.

MCller 0 . B.), Das Lehen und die Geuohnheiten der Ostiaken. Petersburg,
1716.

MCller (Max), Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion. London,
1878.

Nassau (R. H.), Fetichism in West Africa. I^ondon, 1904.

Niblack (Albert P.), The Coast Indiam of Southern Alaska and Northern
British Columbia {Ann. Rep. of the Board of Regents of the Smiths. Imt.).
Washington, 1888.

Nieuwfnhuis (A. W.), Die Wurzeln de Animismus {Intern. Arch, fur ethnogr.^
Bd. XXIV, Supplement). Leiden, 1917.

Die Veranlagung der malaiischen Vdlker des ostindischen Archipels

{Intern. Arch, fur Ethnogr., Bd. XXII). Leiden, 1914.

Nilsson (M. P:n), Primitive Religion. Stockholm, 1923.

LIST OF AUTHORITIES

321

Nilsson (M. P : n), Gnechische Feste, Leipzig, 1906.

Arets folkliga fester. Stockholm, 1915.

Oldenbero (H.), Die Reli^on des Veda. Berlin, 1917.

Oldfield (A.), The Ahongfnts of Australia {Transactions of the Ethnological
Society of London^ voK III, new series). London, 1865.

Origen, Opera omnia (Migne, Patrologiae cursus, vols. XI~XVII). Parisiis,
1857-60.

Paasonen (H.), “ Uber die urspriinglichen Seelenvorsteilungen bei den
finnisch-ugrischen Vdlkem,** in Suomalais-ugrilaisen Seuran Aika^
kauskitjOf XXV (1908).

Pallas (P. S.), Travels into Siberia and Tartary, Proinnces of the Russian
Empire, (Trusler (J.), The Habitable World Described, vols. II-IV).
London, 1788.

Parker (Mrs. K. Langloh), The Euahlayi Tribe. London, 1905.

Pausanias, Descriptio Graeciae.

Pervuhin (N.), Yeskizi predanii y buita inaradtsev Glazovskavo uyezda,
I-V. Vyatka, 1888-90.

Petersen (Henry), Om nordboemes gudadyrkelse och gudatro. Kdbenhavn,
1876.

Petitot (Emile), Monograpkie des Dend-Dindjie. Paris, 1876.

Pettazzoni (Raff aelk), Dio I. Vessere celeste nelle credenze dei popoli
primitivi. Bologna, 1922.

“ Allwissende hdchste Wesen bei primitivsten Vdlkem,*^ in Archiv.

fur Religionswissenschqft, XXIX, Heft 1/2 (1931).

La confessione dei peccati. Vols. I-II. ^logna, 1929-35.

Plato, Opera.

Pliny, Historia naturalis.

Plutarch, Romane Questions. Trans. Ed. by F. B. Jevons. London,
1892.

Porphyry, Opera.

Powdermaker (H.), Oceania. 2 vols. Melbourne, 1930.

PREUSS (K. Th.), Menschenopfer und SelbstverstOmmlung bei der
Todtentrauer in Amerika,** in Festschrift fur Adolf Bastian. Berlin,
1890.

Die Begrdbnisarten der Amerikaner und Nordostasiaten. Kdnigsberg,

1894-

Der Ursprung der Religion und Kunst, in Globus, Bd. LXXXVI and

LXXXVII, 1904, 1905.

Die Religion und Mythologie der Uitoto, 2 vols. Gdttingen u. Leipzig,

1921.

Glauben und Mystik im Schatten des hdchsten Wesens. Berlin, 1926.
Qvigstad (J.), Kildeskrifter til den lappiske mytholo^, I-II {Det Kongl.

Norske Vedenskapers Selskabs Shifter). Trondjem, 1903-10.

Radloff (Wilhelm), Dcu Schamanenthum und sein Kultus. Leipzig, 1885.
Restrepo Tirado (Ernesto), Los Quimbayas. Bogoti, 1895.

Reuterski6ld (Edgar), De nordiska lappamas religion. Stockholm, 1912.
Rigryeda (Der). Trans, into German by A. Ludwig. 6 vols. Prag, 1876-88.
Rivers (W. H. R.), “ Survival in S<^iology,*’ in Sociological Review, VI.
London, 1913.

Sociology and Psychology,” in Sociological Review, IX. London,

1916.

Romer (L. F.), TilfSrladelig Efterretmng om Kysten Guinea, Kidbenhavn,
1760.

Rouse (W. H. D.), Greek Votive Offerings. London, 1902.

Sahaoun (P. Bernardino db), Historia general de las cosas de Nueva Espaha.

3 vols. Mexico, 1829-30.

LIST OF AUTHORITIES

Saintyves (P.)» La force magique, Du mana des primitives ou dynamisme
scientific, X9X4*

Schmidt (Pater W.)t ** Die kulturhistorische Methode in der Ethnologic/’
in AnthropoSf VI (1911).

** Die moderne Ettoologie/* in Anthropos^ 1 (i9c^).

Kulturkreise und Kulturschichten in Sildamerika/’ in Zeitschrift fur

Ethnologies XLV (1913).

Schoolcraft (Henry R.)» Historical and Statistical Information Respecting
the History's Conditions and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United
States. 6 voU. Philadelphia, 1851-57.

Schrader (O.), Reallexikon der indogermanischen Altertumskunde. 2 voU.
Berlin, 1929*

ScHUR (J.), Versdknungstag und Sundenbock {Societas Scientiarum Fennica.

Com. Hum. Litt.. VI, 3). Helsingfors, 1934.

Seler (Edward), Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur amerihanischen Sprach- und
Alterthstmskunde. 3 vols. Berlin, 1908.

Simons (F. A. A.), “ An Exploration of the Goajira Peninsula, U.S. of
Colombia," in Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society. New
Series, vol. VII. London, 1885.

Skeat (W. W.), Malay Magic. London, 1900.

Smith (W. Robertson), The Religion of the Semites. London, 1894.

Societas Scientiarum Fennica. Commentaiiones Human. Litterarum. Hel-
singfors.

Sociological Review {The). I^ndon.

Soderblom (Nathan), " Mystcrie-ccremonier och deras ursprung," in
Ymer. 1906.

Gudstrons uppkomst. Stockholm, 1912.

Spencer (Herbert), The Principles of Sociology. 3 vols. London, 1879-96.
Spencer (W. B.) and Gillen (F. J.), The Native Tribes of Central Australia.
London, 1899.

The Northern Tribes of Central Australia. London, 1904.

Spix (J. B. von) and Martius (C. F. Ph. von), Reise in Brasilien. 3 vols.
MQnchen, 1829-31.

Steinen (Karl von den), Unter den Natun^dlkem Central -Brasiliens.
Berlin, 1894.

Steller (G. W.), Beschreibung von detu Lande Kamtschatka. Frankfurt u.
Leipzig, 1774 -

Stengel (Paul), Die grtechischen Kultusaltertiimer. MQnchen, 1898.

Stout (G. F.), Analytic Psychology. 2 vols. I.x)ndon, 1896.

Strehlow (Carl), Die Aranda- und Loritja-Stdmme in Zentral-Austr alien.
Ed. ^ M. von Leonhardi. 4 vols. {Verdffentlichungen aus dem
stddtischen Vdlker-Museum Frankfurt am Mains I.) Frankfurt a. M.,

Suu.Y (James), The Human Mind. A Text-book of Psychology. 2 vols.
London, 1892.

Sverdrup (Georg), Fra gravskikker til dddstro i nordisk bronsdlder. Oslo,
> 933 -

S wanton (J. R.), Social Conditions Beliefs s and Linguistic Relationships of the
Tlingit I^ans {Twenty-sixth Ann. Rep. of the Bur of Ethnol.).
WaJiin^on, 1908.

Contributions to the Ethnology of the Haida {Memoirs of The Am. Mus.

of Nat. Hist. Leyden and New York, 1905.

Tornaeus (J. j.), Beskrifning dfver Tomed och Kemi lappmarker. Stockholm,
1712.

Trecear (Edward), The Maori Race. Wanganui, N.Z., 1904.

Trusler (J.), The Habitable World Described. 4 vols. London, 1788.

3*3

LIST OF AUTHORITIES

Tbchudi (J. J. von), Peru, Reiseskizzen, z vols. St. Gallen, 1846.

Tylor (E. B.), Primitive Culture, z vob. London, 1871.

UsENBR (H.), Gdttemamen, Bonn, 1896.

Varro (M. Terentius), De lingua Latina.

Vendidad (The). Trans, by J. Darmesteter. (The Sacred Books of the East,
vol. IV). Oxford, 1895.

Vbroilius Maro, Opera omnia,

yfKiTZ (Th.), Anthropologie der Naturvdlker. 6 vols. (vol. V, pt. a, and
Vol. VI by G. Gerland.) Leipzig, 1859-72.

Wallace (A. R.), A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and the Rio Negro.
London, 1853.

Waronen (Matti), Vainajainpalvelus muinaisilla suomalaisilla. Helsingissft,
1895.

Wbstermarck (Edward), The History of Human Marriage, 3 vols. London,
1921.

The Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas. 2 vols. London,

1906-08.

Ritual and Belief in Morocco. 2 vols. London, 1926.

WiCHMANN (Yrjo), Tietqja Vo^aakkien mytologiiasta (Suomi, ser. 3, vol. VI).
Helsingfors, 1893.

Wundt (Wilh.), Vorlesungen uber die Menschen- und Tierseele. Hamburg
u. Leipzig, 1892.

Elemente der Vdlkerpsychologie. Leipzig, 1912.

Vdlkerpsychologie. Bd. VI. Mytkus und Religion. Leipzig, 1915.

Yarrow (H. C.), “ A Further Contribution to the Study of the Mortuary
Customs of the North American Indians,’* in Ann. Rep. Bur. Ethnol.,
vol. I. Washington, 1881.

Ymer. Tidskrift utgiven av Svenska Sdllskapet for Antropologi och Geografi.
Stockholm.

Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie. Berlin.

Zeitschnft fiir Vdlkerpsychologie und Soziologie. Leipzig.

ZsLLSR (E.), Die Philosophie der Griechen. 5 vols. Leipzig, 1909-1923.

INDEX

Abstinence, sexual, 2x3, 22^
Abstraction and generalization, lack-
ing power of, in the savage, 25 sq.
After-burial among the Boror6
Indians, 59

Agriculture, worship of plant spirits in
connection with, 105, 106, 107, loH
Amulets, obtained from the animal
kingdom, 91 sq, \ from the veget-
able kingdom, 94, 10919., 113,
120 ; consisting of stones, feathers,
etc., 117, 121, 227

Anaconda (water serpent), worship
of, 131

Ancestor worship, supposed to be
the original form of religion,
18 19. ; chief form of religion
among some peoples, 288, 293
Animals, sense of the supernatural
in, 27 sq, ; worship of, 76 199., 83,
143, 146 ; belief in the descent of
men from, 144, 145, 146, 150, 151,
152, 159; the reincarnation of
human souls in, 78, 80, 81, 82, 84,
• 44 . > 47 . > 48 , > 49 . > 55 . >59
Animatum, 30, 33 sgg . ; 37 tq., 40
Animism, Tylor's theory on, 19 199.,
47 tq

Apacktiat sacred heaps of stone in
ancient Peru, 124

Arawaki, Indian tribe in Guiana,
ceremonial mutilations among the,
29a

Aristotle, on plant souls, 93
Arrows, invisible, used by sorcerers,
213 ; the cause of sickness, 164,
166, 168 sq.

Arrow-poison, superstitious ideas
connected with, 113 tq.

Anitwma, ancestral spirits of the
Jibaro Indians, 113
Aacetism, forms of, in the lower
religion, 223

Ashes, carefully kept after the
burning of corpse, 285
Assyriolo^, 2
Atharva-Veda, 240

Athravan, the Persian priest, 209
Atman, ^e spiritual principle in
Vedic religion, 54

Augustine (Saint), demonology of,
178 ; ^eat importance attached
to baptism by, 244
Avesta, 2, 241

Aztecs, human sacrifices of, 261. 262

Baa/, The Canaanite cult of, 90
Baityliai, sacred stones of the
Canaanites, 123

Baptism, of children, 240, 243 sg.
Bastian, A., on Elementargedanken, 3
Bathing, ceremonial, 240, 241
Bear, worship of the, 84 199., 144 ;
belief in the descent from the,

144, 145, 146

Birds, worship of, 82, 85 ; as totems

145, 146, 147, 149; belief in the
descent from, 146

Blessing, magic of, 45
Blood, as the seat of the soul, 50,
53 ; taboo, 66 ; as a means of
pui^cation, 239, 240 ; vital power
concentrated in the, 65
Body, human, magical pow'er of, 50,

211

Body-painting, magical character of,

212

Body-soul, Wundt’s theory of, 52
Bones, of dead men, preserved, 59 ;
considered to have mana, 41 ; of
animals killed in hunting, pre-
served, 144, 145

“ Bone-scraping,” ceremony of the
Maori, 282

Bororb, Indian tribe in Central
Brazil, their use of bull -roarers,
70 ; identify themselves with
macaws, 147

Bosman, on fetishism, 119; on the
Supreme Beings, 188
de Brosses, the term ” fetishism ”
introduced into science by, 118,
119
3 ^

INDEX

Bows and arrows, miniature, used
by wizards, i68

Brahman, supposed ** pre-animistic *’
notion, 31

Brown, A. R., on the Supreme
Being of the Andamanese, 189

BufiialO'dance of the Omahas, 159;
of the Mandans, 235

Buildings, ceremonies performed
with new, 253

Bull-roarers, magical instruments of
the Boror6 and the Australians,
70, 228 ; believed to imitate the
sounds of the spirits, 230

Burial, customs observed, 277 sqq.

Burning the dead, 277, 283 sqq.

Camphor-tree, 98
Cannibalism, 280
Castrto, M. A., 77, 128
Caves, the worship of, 127 ; sacri-
fices offered in, 257
Cedar, superstitious ideas held of
the, in North America, 94
Charms. See Amulets
Charruas, Indian tribe in Uruguay,
ceremonial mutilations among the,
292

Cherokee Indians, propitiation of the
spirit of the b^ar and the eagle
among the, 85, 235 ; their ideas of
the spirit of the c^ar, 94
Child-birth, taboo of, 66, 239
Children, believed to have little
resistance against evil spirits, 211 ;
ceremonies performed with new-
born, 212

Chonta palm, worship of, in South
America, 95, 96

Chonta thorns, used by wizards in
South America, 96
Churiftga, sacred instrument of the
Australians, 70 sqq., 157 sq.
Circumcision, as an initiation rite,
212

Citua, the great annual purification
feast of the Incas, 241
Clay vessels, believed to have female
souls, 141

Clodd, E., on “ naturism,*' 32 sq.
Co<», magical plant of the Peru-
vians, 253 ; formerly worshipped,
107

Codrington, R. H., on the Melanesian
30. 33» 4*. 66

325

Conception, primitive theory of,
156 sq.

Conceptional theory of totemism,
J. G. Frazer’s, 153
Confession, as a means of purifica-
tion, 246 sq . ; in ancient Inca
empire, 248 sq.

Conjuration, prayer as a, 271
Contagious ma^c, 73
Control of spirits by magical means,
226 sqq.

Corn-mother, worship of the, 105
Couvade, the, 127
Cremation . See Burning of the dead
Crime, confession of, in ancient Inca
empire, 248 sq.

Culture-history school, 4 sqq., 14
Curse, magic of the, 45

Dances, primitive, magical character
of, 231 ; performed to promote
fertility, 232 ; to prevent epi-
demics, ibid. ; to obtain control
over spirits, 233

Darwin, Ch., on the sense of the
Supematui^ in animals, 27 sq.

Dead, worship of the. See Ancestor
worship

Death, natural, unknown to the
savage, 162 ; has given rise to the
idea of the soul, 57 ; primitive
theory of, 162 sq.

Death-spirit, to be distinguished
from the soul of the dead, 289 ;
fear of, 289 sq.

Deification, of moving things, 28 ;
of motionless things, 28 sq.

Demons, origin of the belief in,
161 sq . ; as causes of striking
phenomena of nature, accidents,
and misfortune, 173 sqq. See also
Disease and Unlucky days ’*

Diet, restrictions in. See Fasting

Disease, primitive theory of, 164 sqq . ;
disease distinguished from sick-
ness caused by witchcraft, 164 sq.;
caused by the “ loss of the souls,”
165, 170, 171 ; caused by the
spirits of the departed, 170

Dream, primitive idea of, 58

Drinks, intoxicating, believed to have
supernatural power, 109 S9. ; nar-
cotic, used in divination, 111 sqq.

Drowned persons, changed into
water spirits, 129

INDEX

3*6

Drums, as magical instruments, aa8 ;
in Siberia, means of producing
ecata^, 230
Dualistic religions, 249

Ecstasy, religious significance of,
zit $q » ; particularly characteristic
of Asiatic shamanism, 216, 217
Election, divine, in shamanism, 216

Epidemics, prevented by means of
dancing, 232
Euhemeros, 18

Evocatio deomm, magical ceremony
of the ancient Romans, 273
Evolutionary school, 4, 13, 14
Exogamy, 160

Expulsion of evil spirits, annual,
240 sqq.

Fasting, ideas underlying the custom
of, 223

Feasts, religious, 104, 106, 241, 245.
248

Feathers, of birds, believed to have
magical power, 91, 227, 228
Feline family, animals of the,
regarded as evil spirits, 81
Fertility, of the fields, infiuenced by
dancing, 96, 104, 232 ; and water-
spirits, 131

Fetishism, meaning of the term, 1 18 ;
mentioned by early travellers,
iiB sq. ; Its relation to aninusm,
120 ; West African, 120 iq.

Fire, as a means of purification, 240,

241. 243. 244

Flutes, used in magical ceremonies,
228

Food, taboo on, 69, 223 ; after a
death, 224

Frazer, J. G., his theory of a stage
of nugic preceding ^e stage of
religion, 14, 237 ; on homceo-
pathic and contains magic, 71 ;
on Aryan tree worship, 99, 108 ;
on the magical practices of the
Australians, 236 ; on the mor-
tality, 261 ; on the human sacri-
fices of the Khands, 265 tq.

Fuegians, the, their ** primitive-
ness ** exaggerated by a certain
school, 5, 14, 193 ; their supposed
** monofteism,’* 192 sq.

Fustel de Coulange, 18

Future life, the earliest ideas of, 276

Generation, primitive theory of, 154
Ghosts, the origin of religion derived
from the belief in, 18 sq. See also
Spirits, Demons

Grave-offerings, sometimes misun-
derstood, 251

“ Great Spirit ** of the North
American Indians, 191
Groves, sacred, gods worshipped in,
256

Haddon, on fetishism, 120 ; on the
leligion of the natives of the
Torres Strait, 183

Hair, human, the vital power be-
lieved to be concentrated in the.
50, 62

Head, the soul or vital pow'er con-
centrated in the, 63

Head-hunting, ideas underlying,
among the Dyaks and the Jiban>
Indians, 63

Hearts of men, offered in sacrifice
by the ancient Mexicans, 264

Heavenly bodies, worship of, 135 sqq.

Henotheism, 12

Hills, regarded as the abodes of
spirits, 126

Homoeopathic magic, 73

Hope, in religion, 202

Hiuua, sacred places in ancient
Peru, 122

Human sacrifice, explained as
founded on the idea of substitu-
tion, 264 ; nru^fical chaiacter of,
in ancient Mexico, 261, 264 ;
among the ancient Peruvians,
263 sq. ; of the Khands, 265 tq. ;
of the Pawnees, 266

Ijca Indians, confession of sins in
sickness among the, 247
Images, magic of, 73
Imiution, a principle underlying
primitive dances, 233 fg.

Imitative magic, 73

Inanimate nature, worship of, 116

Initiation ceremonies, their signifi-
cance in the lower culture, 212

Ja^^r, superstitious ideas about the,
in South America, 81

INDEX

Jevons, J« B.» 13

Jibaro Indians of South America,
their ideas about ** disease ’* and
witchcraft, 164 sq , ; distinguish
between natural and demoniacal
jaguars and snakes, 82 ; ascribe
souls to animals and plants, 95

Kafirs, their ideas of thunderstorms,
35 *> regard snakes as their an-
cestors, 80

Kaschiriy sacred drink of the Brazilian
Indians, 110

Khands, human sacrifices of the,
265 sq,

Koppers, W., on the Supreme Being
of the Fuegians, 195

Lakes, worship of, 129
Lang, Andrew, on the primitive
Supreme Beings, 13, 179, 180
I>vy-Briihl, L., on the “ pre-
logical thinking of primitive
peoples, 22 sq.

Lightning. See Thunder and light-
ning

“ Lightning-stones,” 117
Llama, the sacred animal of the
Peruvians, 262 ; sacrificed to the
gods, 263

Macaw, the “ totem ” of the Borord
Indians, 23, 148

Magic, different kinds of, 73 ; sup-
posed to have preceded religion in
the evolution of thought, 14, 237 ;
difference between religion and, 205
Magical instruments, 228
Ma^cal sacrifices, 260 sqq.
Maize-spirit, worship of, 105, 106,
107. See also Corn-mother
Man, E. H., on the Supreme Being
of the Andamanese, 189
Matuiy Melanesian word for the
Supernatural, 30, 31, 41, 81
Manioc-spirit, worship of, 106
Mannhardt, W., on Aryan tree cult,
98, 103, 108

Marett, R. R., on ” pre-animism ”
and ** animatism,” 30, 31, 34, 35,
37, 117, 271

Masks, used at death- feasts, 234;

animals represented in, ibid.
Mask-dances, based on the principle
of imitation, 233 ; occasions
when performed, 235

327

“ Medicines ” of the North American
Indians, 215 sq.

Medicine-man, Indian, initiation of,
212 sqq.

Melanesians, their belief in a super-
natural power or influence, 30 sq.
Methempsychosis. See Transmigra-
tion of souls

Method, of the Science of Religion,

2 sqq . ; of the culture-history
school, 4 sq . ; comparative, 6, 8
Monotheism, primary, supposed to
exist among primitive races, 179
Moon, worship of the, 137, 138
Mountains, worship of, 126 sq.
Mourning customs, 292
Miiller, Max, 2, 12
Mutilations, ceremonial, 292

Names, magic of, 230 ; of gods,
taboo, 272 sqq.

Narcotic drinks, used for divination,
112, 214

Natimay narcotic drink of the Jibaro
Indians, 112

Nature-worship, 133 sqq.

” Naturism,” 33

Nilsson, M. P:n, on primitive theory
of sickness, 46 ; on cremation, 283

Offerings, magical, to the spirits of
dangerous places, 253 ; to the
spirits of the sea and of springs,
262

Ornaments, magical character of, 91
Owl, superstitious ideas about the,
127

Pawnees, human sacrifices of the, 266
Pettazzoni, R., on the Supreme
Beings, 180, 194, 195
Pliny, on plant souls, 100; on the
prophetic power of animals, 87 sq.
Possession, as a cause of disease,
170 sqq . ; divinatory power due to,
172 sq.

Potato-mother, worship of the,
among the ancient Peruvians, 107
Prayer, attitude of worshipper in,
270; as a request, 269; as a
conjuration, 271 ; importance of
knowing the gc^’s name in, 272 sq.
Preuss, K. Th., an advocate of the
pre-animistic theory, 31 19., 33 ;
on the magical significance of
drinking-bouts, 109

INDEX

328

Priests, to be distingiiished from
sorcerers, 205 $q, ; absence of,
among the lowest races, ao6 ; dis-
tinguished from sorcerers among
Finno-Ugrian peoples, 207 ; in-
itiation of, 218
Puberty, ceremonies at, ai2
Purification ceremonies, 238 sqq.

Rainbow, ideas held about the, 133,

Reincarnation, doctrine of. Sec
Transmigration of the souls
Religion diei, of the Romans, 177
Rice-mother, worship of the, 107
Rocks, worship of, 152
Rye-mother, >^orship of the, 108

Sacrifice, as a gift, 252 ; as a votive
offering. 254 ; of first-fruits, 255 ;
bloody, 254, 260 ; V''edic, 258 sq. ;
magical, 260 sqq, ; human, 264 sqq.
Sanctuaries. See Temples
Scapegoats, purifications by means
of, 245 ; human, 245 sq.

Shamans. See Sorcerers
Sickness. S« Disease
Sin, materialistic conception of, 239
Snakes, regarded as incarnations of
evil wizards. 82 ; worshipped in
ancient Greece, 88 sq.

Sdderblom, N., on the Australian
churinga^ 71 sq. ; on the Supreme
Beings, 185, 19S . ^ j r

Sorcerers, to be distinguished from
the priests, 205 ; among the
American Indians, 206, 212 sq. ;
among Finno-Ugrian peoples, 207
sq. ; in Siberia, 208, 216 $q.

Soul, primitive conception of, 49
sqq. ; identified with the breath,
52. 53 ; with the shadow, 54; dif-
ferent kinds of soul distinguished,
55 sq. ; origin of the idea of,
57 sq. ; in animals, 78 ; in plants,
93 sqq. ; in inanimate objects, 117
sqq., 152 ; in toteim, I49. I53. *57
Spencer, B., and Gillen, F. J., on
the ckuringa of the Australians, 71 ;
on the Supreme Beings of the
Australians, 182 sq.

Spencer, Herbert, ^ on anc^tor-
worship as the origin of religion,
17 sqq.

Spirits, of disease and death, 161 sqq.;
causing madness, 172 ; of mis-
fortune, 173 sqq. ; of the dead,
176 sqq. See also Soul, Demons

Springs, worship of, 131 sq.

Steinen, K. von den, on the religious
ideas of the Boror6, 23, 147

Stones, worship of, 116, 125

Sun, worship of the, absence or
paucity of, in the lower culture,
135 sq. ; among the Incas, 137 sq. ;
among the Lapps, 139

Supreme Beings, their religious
significance greatly exaggerated,
179 ; in Australia, 181 sqq. ; in
Africa, 188 ; of the Andamanese,
189 ; in America, iqosqq. ; their
connection with ancestor worship,
186 sq., 196, 197 ; due to foreign
influence, 188, 194, 196

Taboo, 66 sq. ; death and disease the
source of, 67 sq.

Tattooing, as an initiation ceremony,
212

Teeth, of animals, worn as amulets,

78, 91

Temples, 256 sq.

Thunder and lightning, 133

Tiger, the worship of, in Sumatra,
79

Totemism, 143 sqq.

Transmigration of souls, into animals,
78 sqq., ^ ; into plants, 93 sq. ;
into inanimate objects, 122, 126 sq.;
souls of ancestors reborn, 155

Trees, worship of, 94 sqq. ; Aryan
tree worship, 99 sqq.

Tylor, E. B., his definition of the
soul, 49 ; on animism, 20 sqq. ;
on stock and stone- worship, 1 16

Westermarck, E., on the worship of
objects of nature, 77 ; on the
relation between magic and re-
ligion, 205 ; on human sacrifice,
264

Winds, worship of, 134 sq.

Words, magic power of the, 230 ;
of origin, 231

Wundt, W., on the difference
between the “ body-soul and the
free-soul,*' 52 ; on animatism,
47 ; on the origin of platform
burial, 278